In 2008, New York City (NYC) issued a long-term action plan to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from municipal buildings and operations by 30% by 2017. The program entailed an aggressive capital improvement plan for city facilities as well as significant enhancements to its operations and maintenance (O&M), and was anticipated to have an average payback of 7.6 years. This case study lays out how New York City put in place a self-funding model to enable investments in energy efficiency over a 10 year period.
This resource is part of the City Energy Project Resource Library. Launched in 2019, the library is the culmination of 6+ years of work on the ground in 20 U.S. cities to reduce energy use in large buildings. The City Energy Project is a joint project of IMT and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). For more information, visit www.cityenergyproject.org.