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Bronx Consultant Recommends Renewable Alternative to NYC Clean Heat

Renewable Energy can increase long-term property values by eliminating energy bills. Current incentive programs favor fossil fuel-based solutions, and damage property values.

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[Press Release Distribution]

DaBx, a renewable energy consulting firm, recently proposed a renewable energy option as an alternative strategy for the phase-out of #6 and #4 heating oil in New York City, based on the fact that it would make a greater contribution to Clean Air, as well as offer better long term economics for building owners.

The proposal recognizes that phasing out #6 and #4 home heating fuel are a good step, but building owners should not be stop at shifting to natural gas, when renewable energy options are available and might offer better financial results in the long-term. The recommendation was presented to the Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability by Rogier F. van Vlissingen, President of DaBx Demand Side Solutions in the Bronx. Van Vlissingen argues that The Clean Heat program should be leveraged to go beyond mere energy efficiency and cleaner fuel (natural gas). The Clean Heat program allows for exemptions, offering an opportunity for buildings that want to go the renewable route, which would need to be phased in over years, and thus require an exemption from the deadline for the oil phase-out.

The central recommendations of the report focus on using correct financial modeling for buildings to create a long-term energy plan. It points out that models such as the NYSERDA MPP program focus on short-term energy efficiency, and that owners should do a long-term energy plan for buildings first, and that such plans can still meet or exceed the criteria to qualify them for advantageous financing.

Specifically, it points out that the focus on energy efficiency first gets in the way of recognizing the long term benefits of renewable energy. In simple terms: Thirty years of no energy bills will beat a 30% reduction of energy bills. By making a 30-year energy plan, it can be seen that the increased capital expenditure for renewable energy may offer financially superior results, while the short term energy efficiency model of the NYSERDA MPP does not capture those benefits. The NYSERDA program is geared only to making the existing systems more efficient. The proposal says that making a fossil fuel infrastructure more efficient does not make it green, that would be greenwashing. Energy efficiency of the building is critical to success with renewable energy as well, as it reduces capital costs directly.

The proposed renewable solution is described here: Leveraging NYC Clean Heat for Renewable Energy and its central tenets are to leverage the opportunity of the switch away from oil towards more renewable energy infrastructure in buildings, using all available technologies, geothermal, solar thermal, and wind power. The first major step recommended in the report would be a renewable solution for domestic hot water, typically either solar thermal or a geothermal heat pump.

Importantly, the city has just begun to study the potential of geothermal energy seriously under legislation Mayor Bloomberg signed at the end of April. Wind energy has so far also been mostly ignored in the city, in spite of Mayor Bloomberg’s advocacy in 2008, and the fact that many newer designs now exist that are suited for urban deployment.

According to the DaBx proposal, more than 50% of buildings that are currently converting from #6 and #4 oil to natural gas could have the potential of converting to renewable energy in a step-wise conversion program, spread out over a few years. This is why they would need an exemption from the current law. The blueprint for this program was first offered to Mayor Bloomberg on July 4th, 2011, under the title of “DaBx PlaNYC2020″ suggesting that more could be achieved in less time with a renewable energy approach than with mere energy efficiency, and conversion to another, slightly cleaner fuel.

Lastly, the proposal also notes that in New York, the opportunities for major progress with renewable energy are typically greater in the outer boroughs than in Manhattan, mostly because of space problems. Thus the outer boroughs stand to benefit greatly from such improvements, and make rapid advances in living conditions, Clean Air, but also in long-term economic competitiveness of the City.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.vliscony.com/2013/05/23/nyc-clean-heat-renewable-energy/

Contact Info:
Name: Rogier Fentener van Vlissingen
Email: vliscony@gmail.com
Address: 2141 Starling Avenue, Ste 404, Bronx, NY 10462
Phone: 7188236428
Organization: DaBx Demand Side Solutions, Inc

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/bronx-consultant-recommends-renewable-alternative-to-nyc-clean-heat/14335

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