Ithaca, N.Y., Votes To Electrify And Decarbonize Building Stock

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 7, 2021

The City of Ithaca, N.Y., recently voted to electrify and decarbonize its building stock. The city’s contract with BlocPower, a New York-based climate tech startup focused on greening aging urban building, represents the first large-scale, city-wide electrification initiative in the U.S., and a major step forward in Ithaca’s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2030, BlocPower said.

Ithaca’s Common Council on Nov. 3 voted to empower Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick to negotiate a contract with BlocPower, which the city’s Planning and Economic Development Committee unanimously approved to manage the project after ratifying the results from its Energy Efficiency Retrofitting and Thermal Load Electrification RFP on October 20.

Building electrification is a key part of Ithaca’s Green New Deal.

BlocPower’s proposal estimates that the installation of air source heat pumps paired with supporting energy efficiency upgrades and other building improvements will cut Ithaca’s 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide by 40% and create 400 new green economy construction, technology and management jobs.

At the same time, it will make financing green energy upgrades affordable by providing low-cost loans to building owners, which they will pay back through the significant energy cost savings received, according to BlocPower.

Additional information about BlocPower is available here.