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INDUSTRY LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES
- Changes to drilling regulations for closed-loop geothermal boreholes deeper than 500 feet
- Established tax credit for purchase and installation of geothermal energy systems
- Support Local Law 97 to reduce carbon emissions in NYC
- Testimony in rate payer cases to advance GHP.
POLICY PRIORITIES
Below is an overview of the initiatives and bills that NY-GEO supports in advancing our mission to
MAKE GEOTHERMAL ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
NY HEAT ACT (S2016A/A4592A)
Cleaner Heat - Lower Bills
The NY Heat Act will bring New Yorkers the freedom to enjoy the safest, cleanest temperature control the 21st century has to offer. From ground source heat pumps that end the need for asthma-causing fossil fuels to cutting-edge thermal networks that keep whole neighborhoods cozy through the winter, ordinary New Yorkers will no longer be forced by utility shareholders to burn the kinds of expensive and volatile fuels that threaten our health, wallets, and future.
INCREASE GEOTHERMAL TAX CREDIT (S8106/A8588)
Heating and cooling our New York State buildings using our current methods account for about 34% of our greenhouse gases. To transition to a carbon-free form of heating and cooling we need to encourage building owners to replace fossil fuel geothermal technology. To support this transition Bills S8106 and A8588 will increase the allowed tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000 and expedite the adoption of geothermal technology to help more building owners manage this transition. Importantly, these bills support taxpayers who meet the definition of low-to-moderate income or reside in a disadvantaged community, the excess shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded.
NYSERDA FUEL SWITCHING GRANT PROGRAM
(S8504/A8595)
The New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) supports this legislation that would authorize the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to administer a program that provides grants, loans, and other services for costs related to fuel-switching, via clean energy measures, energy-efficiency measures, resiliency measures, and more. Such a program would enable residents stuck with expensive propane or fuel-oil heating systems to upgrade to energy efficient heat pumps, save money on energy bills, and improve home comfort and reliability.
NYSERDA GREEN JOBS GREEN NY
NY-GEO suggests changing the NYSERDA GJGNY loan program to make it more helpful and accessible to customers and contractors:
- The current maximum loan amount of $25k is too low. We want to match neighboring states Massachusetts, MassSave Clean Heat loan and Connecticut, CT Smart-e loan who have a maximum loan amount of $50k.
- Currently, many geothermal installers do not recommend the GJGNY loan product to their customers, and if they do, their customers often end up with two loans (a public loan and a private sector loan), which adds cost and inconvenience.
- We recommend that NYSERDA change its GJGNY loan disbursement policy to provide installment payments to customers/contractors during a geothermal heat pump installation.
NEW EFFICIENCY: NEW YORK (NENY)
The New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) submits feedback to the Public Service Commission regarding case 18-M-0084; In the Matter of a Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Initiative and 14-M-0094; Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to Consider a Clean Energy Fund. This feedback is from a series of NY-GEO member discussions based on PSC questions, a review of utility working group conference summaries, and previous NENY-related historical documents. Our comments relate to the Non-LMI Income questions.
UTILITY THERMAL ENERGY NETWORK and JOBS ACT (UTENJA)
In general, NY-GEO is supportive of Staff’s work to date and would like to submit the comments below to reinforce, question or add to the current discussion. A key issue for NY-GEO is that the definition of “networks” includes more than a “district concept” where the thermal resource is shared via a single conduit (i.e. pipe). Individual boreholes for each building in a neighborhood, community, geographically designed system, etc. should also be considered a network if ownership is a utility, thermal network business, campus, etc.
RELATES to the GREEN JOBS-GREEN NEW YORK PROGRAM and on BILL RECOVERY LOAN AGREEMENT
(S9744 / PARKER)
The New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) supports this legislation that would authorize the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to enhance the Green Jobs-Green New York (GJGNY) program by:
Increase the loan amount from $25,000 to $50,000