Timeline: NYC Real Estate Energy Laws
Key Takeaways:
New York City has been advancing building regulations aimed at energy use for decades.
Understanding the time of laws shows the City is just getting started regulating building performance.
Since its founding, New York City has been a worldwide leader in urban policy as cities around the globe look to see how the Big Apple is tackling some of the biggest problems we face. After the energy crisis of the 1970s, local officials in New York State and New York City began to devise ways to regulate and reduce local petroleum consumption.
In 1975, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) was established to achieve those goals at the gas pump. NYSERDA absorbed the New York State Energy Office when it was closed in 1995, taking over the agency’s role in energy policy analysis and energy efficiency audits.
Over the next decade, New York began grappling with the consequences of the state’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, establishing renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in 2004 and the energy efficiency portfolio standard (EEPS) in 2008. When New York became a charter member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), NYSERDA’s and lawmakers’ efforts to reduce electrical consumption and carbon emissions took on a much more proactive role, working to pass some of the most ambitious real estate-based energy laws in the country.
Building on NYSERDA’s initial efforts, Mayor Bloomberg and City Councilmembers voted to pass a package of legislation called the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP), aiming to create the city’s first energy code and pass other laws to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, which accounts for 80 percent of New York City’s total emissions, costing $15 billion a year. The plan laid the groundwork for several new local laws targeting buildings and building owners.
Local Law 84, 2009
Passed in 2009, Local Law 84 requires wonders of the city’s largest commercial and residential buildings to report annual energy and water consumption reports to the city. The move to benchmarking the city’s biggest polluters was the first step towards more robust carbon policies enacted based on the established benchmark scores later. Penalties were light and compliance easy, paving the way for the more aggressive policies to come.
Local Law 87, 2009
Building on previous regulations, Local Law 87, also passed in 2009, requires buildings over 50,000 square feet to undergo energy audits and retro-commissioning. The law captures low-hanging fruit by informing building owners of energy consumption, potential savings and ensuring the correct equipment is installed and operating at the highest performance. Local Law 87 was another light touch in the right direction, giving owners a greater understanding of the energy ecosystem and how their assets impact it.
Local Law 88, 2009
Lighting is a major source of energy use in non-residential buildings. The law requires buildings over 25,000 square feet to upgrade lighting systems to current NYCECC standards and install electrical submeters for each tenant space larger than 5,000 square feet. Local Laws 132 and 134, both of 206, expanded the scope of the law, setting new requirements to be met by 2025.
Local Law 85, 2010
The law requires buildings to meet current energy code situations in the New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) for any renovation or alteration project. Before the project is approved by the city, an energy analysis showing the design’s compliance with NYCECC including supporting documentation must be provided to NYC buildings. Local Law 85 is a moving target, with the NYCECC being updated regularly every few years.
Local Law 92 and 94, 2019
Enacted in 2019, the two local laws require all new buildings and alterations to existing buildings where the roof deck is being replaced to have sustainable roofing cover 100 percent of the roof’s surface area. The new roof must include solar panels generating at least 4kW, a green roof system, or some combination of the two.
Local Law 97, 2024
In 2024, New York City buildings over 25,000 square feet will be subject to requiring carbon reporting and capping emissions to meet the city’s ambitious climate goals by 2050. The new law aims to reduce carbon emissions produced by the city’s building stock by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Local Law 97 requires eligible buildings to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 from a 2005 baseline. That’s roughly a 26% cut from today.
Unlike previous laws, penalties are steep and compliance will take serious investment. The penalty for being over carbon emission limits is $268/year/metric ton with no cap on fines. Missing a report filing will result in a $0.50/sq.ft. fine every month until the report is received. Falsifying a report will result in a $500,00 fine and up to 30 days of jail time. Climate activists have called Local Law 97 one of the largest single carbon reduction efforts ever undertaken.
No other city in the United States is passing building-specific energy laws with such voracity as New York City. New Yorkers made a commitment to fight carbon emissions and are doing more than any other American metro to make sure they hit those targets. For now, the plethora of laws only impact New York City buildings, but some experts see New York’s Local Laws as a model of national regulation. Familiarizing yourself with the history of New York’s real estate energy laws tells you where regulations have been to help you understand where they’re going.
