New York City’s Local Law 97, an ambitious climate plan that includes fines for owners of large buildings that don’t significantly reduce carbon emissions, has spawned innovations to address the law’s provisions.
The law aims to cut emissions from New York’s largest buildings 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. In 2024, the city will begin fining owners of inefficient commercial and residential properties. Fines would rise significantly in 2030.
To avoid those penalties, a 20-year-old luxury Manhattan residential tower has installed scrubbers that capture exhaust from the building’s two natural gas boilers. The effort is part of a pilot project by startup CarbonQuest that will include five other locations.
A Brooklyn tower with 441 mixed-income residences and 30,000 sf of retail is taking another approach. It will be fully electrified, using power from community solar panels and batteries.
The new law could trigger a $20 billion market in energy retrofits in the city over the next decade. Much of that money will be spent on conventional efficiency upgrades such as adding LED light bulbs, triple-pane windows, and updating HVAC equipment including the addition of heat pumps.
Related Stories
Sustainability | Feb 12, 2020
KPF unveils The Pinnacle at Central Wharf, a high-performance, resilient tower
The project will reconnect Downtown Boston to the waterfront.
Sustainability | Feb 6, 2020
Passive House picks up steam
Passive solutions that reduce a building’s energy consumption could get more viable as cities toughen CO2 emissions limits.
Contractors | Jan 20, 2020
Wellness is for builders, not just for buildings
New research on wellness in the construction sector highlights interventions that could be effective in addressing dehydration, weight management, poor air quality, and stress.
Green | Jan 10, 2020
How the new EC3 tool raises the bar on collective action
Nearly 50 AEC industry organizations partnered to develop the groundbreaking Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator.
Sustainability | Jan 2, 2020
Willis Tower becomes largest U.S. building to earn LEED Platinum
The tower earned the Platinum designation under LEED's latest v4.1 rating system.
75 Top Building Products | Dec 16, 2019
101 Top Products for 2019
Building Design+Construction readers and editors select their top building products for the past 12 months in the fourth-annual 101 Top Products report.
75 Top Building Products | Dec 12, 2019
Top Building Envelope Products for 2019
Sto's beetle-inspired exterior coating and Dörken Systems' UV-resistant vapor-permeable barrier are among the 28 new building envelope products to make Building Design+Construction's 2019 101 Top Products report.
Sustainability | Dec 3, 2019
This world-first facility will turn human remains into soil
Olson Kundig is designing the project.
Sustainability | Nov 13, 2019
Citicape House will feature Europe’s largest living wall
Sheppard Robson designed the project.
Sustainability | Nov 8, 2019
South Korea plans to build three hydrogen-powered cities by 2022
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is in charge of the project.
