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New York, New York – The New York City Council is expected to vote on Wednesday to prohibit the use of natural gas in new construction, following the lead of dozens of other smaller US cities seeking to transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources. If the law is passed all new buildings will be required to use electricity for heating and cooking.
In the short term, the new law will have little effect on reducing carbon emissions in the Big Apple, as numerous older structures will remain unaffected, and new structures will continue to use fossil fuel-generated electricity. Longer term, however, the state intends to phase out the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.
The move comes on the heels of the rapid off shore wind turbine roll out occurring up and down the eastern coasts as well as long term solar initiatives inland.
The law would apply to new structures that are less than seven stories tall by the end of 2023 and to those that are more than seven stories tall by the end of 2027. Until now, the most populous city in the United States that has prohibited natural gas in new construction is San Jose, California, with approximately 1 million residents comapred to New York City’s 8.8 million residents.
Carbon emissions from fossil fuels in the United States fell to their lowest level since 1983 in 2020, but were expected to rise about 7% in 2021 as a result of power providers burning more coal to generate electricity due to a sharp increase in natural gas prices. Currently natural gas has been trending downward and the most reasonable source of home heating.
New York’s move could result in higher heating costs for buildings that rely on electricity rather than natural gas.
This winter, the average household in the Northeast of the United States will pay $1,538 to heat their home with electricity, compared to about $865 or even less for natural gas.
Natural gas supporters argue that using gas to generate electricity and then heat buildings is inefficient compared to directly heating with gas and arguable not a relevant argument.
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However, according to federal energy data, more than 40% of the electricity generated in New York State comes from fossil fuels, followed by 29% from nuclear energy and 22% from hydropower.
Carbon emissions from the power sector should continue to decline in New York State in the future, as the state passed a law in 2019 requiring all electricity to come from clean, carbon-free sources such as renewables and nuclear by 2040.
According to environmental advocacy group RMI, which evaluated city greenhouse gas data, burning fuels for space and water heating in buildings accounts for nearly 40% of the city’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Additionally, the comments state that burning fracked gas to power buildings is a significant contributor to climate change and air pollution, resulting in catastrophic climate events and the premature death of an estimated 1,000 New York City residents each year.
The oil and gas industry, which opposed the proposal, argued that using gas for space heating would reduce customer costs and emissions, particularly when combined with clean fuels such as hydrogen and renewable natural gas from landfills.
“Energy-efficient, low-carbon buildings could be powered by a novel combination of natural gas and renewable energy (such as hydrogen) to reduce both emissions and utility bills,” the American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas lobbying organization, stated during the bill’s city council hearings.
Meanwhile, in Europe, where natural gas shortages have driven energy prices to record highs in recent months, the European Union is considering whether to label gas-fired power plants as a green investment in order to help the continent meet its climate goals.
Byproducts of natural gas also are a major contributor to sustainable polymers and plastics. These same polymers and fuels can also be derived from renewable sources such as sugar, corn, and alternatively biochar processing. These products range from green asphalt pavement alternatives, concrete alternatives and fortifiers to other use cases like road treatments for ice control and plastics.
The current markets should expect a continued push towards alternative energy under the current related geo-political regions and continue to expect increased costs for now suppressed industries.
