New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a $12 million Heat Recovery Program to modernize buildings in New York State, focusing on decarbonization and retrofit projects that reuse heat to save energy and reduce fossil fuel use in buildings across the state. The practice of heat recovery, which is recuperating wasted heat and reusing it directly or storing it for later, represents a promising approach to building decarbonization, and helps accelerate progress toward the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to reduce greenhouse emissions 85% by 2050.
“New York’s robust statewide decarbonization efforts are bringing forward innovative and replicable approaches to lowering building emissions and combatting climate change,” Hochul said. “Through this new initiative using heat recovery, we will help increase the adoption of heat recovery solutions, make building operations more affordable, and promote a healthier living environment for more New Yorkers across the state.”
Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), this open-enrollment funding is available to projects in existing commercial, multifamily, institutional and industrial buildings in New York State. For awarded projects, NYSERDA will provide up to a 75% cost share, with maximum awards of $40,000 for the production of heat recovery opportunity assessments and $80,000 for the development of design and construction plans for heat recovery projects. Heat recovery projects will include the capture and transfer of rejected heat to lower the energy used by other systems, such as heat rejected and captured from cooling and dehumidification, ventilation exhaust, or wastewater processes. Low-to-moderate income multifamily housing is eligible for up to 100% cost share, and NYSERDA will dedicate $3 million of the total funding exclusively for projects in low-to-moderate multifamily housing buildings.
Applications for the Heat Recovery Program are now open, and funding will be made available on a first come, first served basis.
