Metering.com 16 NOVEMBER 2017
The New York state government announced $12 million in investment towards improving energy efficiency in industrial and multi-family buildings.
The investment will be used by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to expand the implementation of the Real Time Energy Management (RTEM) programme.
The RTEM will increase the rollout of sensors, smart meters and a variety of energy management technologies to ensure operators of buildings have access to real-time energy consumption data.
Access to this energy usage data will enable consumers to identify operational inefficiencies and energy efficiency potentials, a development which would further help utilities reduce operational expenses and ensure a reliable grid network.
$5.7 million will be used to provide incentives to industrial consumers, $830,000 for multifamily dwellings and $6 million will be used to deploy technologies, including cloud-based controls, for commercial customers.
The $12 million increases the investment from the Clean Energy Fund towards the RTEM to $40 million. The Clean Energy Fund has been allocated $5.3 billion to expand the state’s clean energy market over a period of ten years.
Under the RTEM, NYSERDA provides consumers with 30% of a project’s total costs. NYSERDA claims its RTEM initiative will help reduce energy usage in buildings by 5%.
The programme falls under efforts by the state to increase the use of clean energy technologies and meet targets set under the REV programme to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
Buildings account for 60% of the state’s carbon emissions.
To date, New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision programme (REV) has helped improve the state’s solar market by 800%, reducing energy bills for low-income consumers and creating jobs for locals.
Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA, said, “New York’s building owners and managers will play a crucial role in contributing to the State’s efforts to reduce emissions in its building sector. The RTEM programme has already shown its value in the commercial sector in using energy more efficiently and reducing costs.”