The vision? Replace gas pipelines with networks that tap into latent, otherwise wasted sources of heat, from both underground and industrial or municipal systems, to dramatically improve the efficiency and sustainability of electric heat pumps.
Last week, the coalition won a long-delayed — if partial — victory. The New York Public Service Commission approved two of these utility thermal energy network (UTEN) plans, committing a combined $111.5 million to build what will be the second and third such projects of their kind in the country.
But the commission rejected nine other UTEN projects, including several high-profile ones in New York City and others in upstate communities.
Still, UpgradeNY is hoping that the two approved projects — one in the Hudson Valley town of Haverstraw and the other in the city of Buffalo — will demonstrate that utility thermal energy networks are worth pursuing on a wider scale.
“From a workers’ rights and environmental justice standpoint, it’s a win-win,” said Theodore Moore, executive director of The Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN), an environmental justice group that’s part of the UpgradeNY coalition. “This is a vital step to wean us away from fossil fuels.”
Thermal energy networks use wells and pipes to circulate water or other fluids that capture the steady ambient temperatures hundreds of feet below the earth’s surface, as well as waste heat from sewer systems, industrial facilities, and data centers. Having this steady and stable heat-exchange medium can greatly improve the efficiency of electric-powered heat pumps, which can replace gas-fueled boilers and furnaces.
Such networks already heat and cool college campuses, industrial parks, and entire cities in Europe, Asia, and North America. But New York is one of a growing number of states exploring the potential for gas utilities to change their business model from delivering fossil fuels to delivering clean heat, all while continuing to employ workers — such as the pipefitters, steamfitters, and plumbers that are part of the UpgradeNY coalition — and invest capital in underground infrastructure.
But it’s not yet clear how the costs of installing and running these systems might be balanced out by the advantages they deliver to utility customers and for meeting state climate goals. “Because there are so few of these around the country,” the two approved projects “are setting a standard and creating a blueprint,” Moore said.
For the project in Haverstraw, a town of about 40,000 people on the Hudson River, utility Orange & Rockland plans to spend $50 million to construct a thermal energy network. It will connect up to 30 structures, including single- and multifamily residences, commercial and government buildings, and an elementary school.
