Local Law 97 Update

As most NYC apartment owners and managers know, the City of New York enacted Local Law 97 (LL97) in 2019 as a part of the Climate Mobilization Act. This forward looking law places carbon caps on most buildings larger than 25,000 square feet—roughly 50,000 residential and commercial properties across NYC. These caps start in 2024 and will become more stringent over time, eventually reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Heat-Timer® has been actively involved in the discussion around LL97 and has provided assistance to hundreds of NYC building owners as they plan for compliance to the law and seek to avoid increasing penalties for non-compliance.

Recent Local Law 97 Updates 

The rules around NYC local law 97 are complex and reflect a timetable that allows building owners time to get their properties analyzed and solutions proposed and budgeted. On October 6, 2022, the NYC Department of Buildings released a new document called Proposed Rules for Local Law 97 that answers and clarifies more questions about the law’s requirements through 2050. 

Here are a few key take-away’s from the update, which building owners need to know.

1. 60 NEW PROPERTY TYPES ADDED FROM EPA’S PORTFOLIO MANAGER

The EPA’s Portfolio Manager, is the well-established tool for tracking building energy use. LL97 originally set 10 emissions limits based on Building Code occupancy group classifications. The proposed rules expand those categories based on Portfolio Manager, which includes dozens of different property types that more accurately reflect the variation in energy use among buildings. 

2. BUILDING EMISSIONS LIMITS SET FOR ALL PROPERTY TYPES TO 2050 AND BEYOND

The proposed rules assign new emissions limits for each new property type from 2030 through 2049. From 2050 onward, a zero emissions requirement applies to all property types—a move that aligns to global 1.5°C climate targets. For 2024 to 2029, the proposed rules preserve LL97’s original 10 emissions limits but distribute those limits across the 60 Portfolio Manager property types, creating better-tailored targets for all buildings.

3. A 2030 ELECTRICITY CARBON COEFFICIENT THAT REFLECTS THE GREENING GRID AND SUPPORTS ELECTRIFICATION

The electricity carbon coefficient is used to calculate the carbon content of the electricity that a building consumes each year. The proposed rules specify an electricity coefficient for 2030 to 2034 that is about 50 percent lower than the one that applies for 2024 to 2029. This change reflects major new clean energy coming to NYC in the next few years, bringing rapid decarbonization to reach New York State CLCPA targets. 

4. RECS CAN ONLY OFFSET EMISSIONS FROM ELECTRICITY USE

LL97 allows building owners to deduct or offset annual building emissions through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) for local green power. The proposed rules clarify that these deductions are limited to emissions from building electricity use, which would ensure that credits for the purchase of green electricity aren’t used to offset fossil fuels burned onsite for heat and hot water.

Heat-Timer® Can Help with LL97 Compliance

By reducing the energy consumption of your heating systems by up to 30%, Heat-Timer® Platinum Series Boiler Controls and our newly released Genesis Heat-Timer control can go a long way to reducing your carbon footprint and meeting the increasingly stringent requirements of LL97. Best of all for New York customers, there are rebate programs which most utility companies are providing that can offset a major part of the cost of heating control installation. A current list of rebate incentives available to New York Customers is available at the NYSERDA website.

For more information on the hundreds of customers Heat-Timer® has helped comply with LL 97, give us a call today.

This blog was originally published at https://www.heat-timer.com/local-law-97-update/