Adams vows to electrify 100 fossil fuel-burning schools by 2030

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New York City will commit billions of dollars to convert 100 fuel-burning public school buildings to cleaner energy by 2030 as part of its efforts to comply with emissions reductions mandated by city law. announced that it will introduce

The city plans to spend about $4 billion over the next seven years, including the renovation of 100 school buildings so they are fossil fuel-free for heating.That change will help move the city closer to compliance local law 97, This limits the greenhouse gas emissions that buildings must comply with from 2024.

Adams also announced that all new school buildings, including those already under construction, will be fully electric, bringing the city slightly ahead of schedule. City Act 2021 Effectively ban gas use in new construction from 2024.

Newly constructed public school buildings must be fossil fuel free. 2025 under that law.

“All New York City schools we build going forward will be fully electric,” Adams said Friday at a press conference at PS5 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “No more burning boilers or dirty fuel. No more asthma.”

All 100 existing schools that are removing boilers and modernizing heating systems are in areas with high asthma prevalence, Adams said. Pollutants released by burning heating fuels can cause health conditions such as asthma. disproportionately affect Black and Latino kids in New York City.

“I was just downstairs in the basement,” Adams told schoolchildren gathered for Friday’s announcement. intend to.”

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The city’s aging public school buildings still rely heavily on oil and gas heating and are a major contributor to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Equivalent to 154,000 cars Annual carbon footprint.

A sweeping city law passed in 2019 requires large city buildings (both public and private) to reduce overall building emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

City officials said the plans rolled out on Friday will go a long way toward meeting that goal, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 120,000 tons annually. This is equivalent to removing 26,000 of his cars from the road.

The City Department of Education reduced emissions by 14% in more than 800 buildings between 2014 and 2019. Recent reports From the city future center.

The city’s new initiative, called ‘Leading the Charge’, also includes a $540 million effort to install efficient LED lighting in 800 schools by 2026 to reduce the most polluting Helps stop using kind of No. 4 oil. to city officials. No. 4 oil is to be phased out of most buildings by 2030 under city law, and legislators under consideration A bill to extend the deadline to 2025.

Clean energy initiatives are expected to cost an estimated $4 billion by 2030. The city has already “committed” him $2 billion and must “identify the remaining funding over the next few years,” officials said. It was unclear if any of the funds came from the federal COVID relief stimulus money.

Proponents of clean energy point out that although the initial cost is high, lower fuel costs can save money in the long run. The city did not immediately provide an estimate of how much money the initiative would save.

Robert Troeller, president of the International Union of Operating Engineers’ Local 891, which represents management engineers, said he had not yet heard details of the new plan, but said, “This is certainly a good general move for the city and state. It’s a sensible direction.”

Troeller added that his one concern is “people losing their jobs because of this.”

City officials said the initiative would create new jobs for “union electricians, plumbers, steam mechanics and mechanics,” but they would help keep schools away from No. 4 oil. but did not provide an estimate of the number of new jobs.

The Education Department is also looking to expand its career and technical education offerings to train students interested in working to build and maintain new all-electric systems.