This article talks about the gas ban that was finally passed in New York City. NYC leads the US in gas burned from buildings, representing 5% of the national load each year. All new buildings will need to be electric-only, starting in 2023. Exceptions are made for some businesses, and for buildings above seven stories this law will go into effect in 2027. Affordable housing units may also escape the new law -- seems to me like there are a lot of ins and outs and exceptions that need to be studied. The article talks about how NYC was a tough sell because of the winter heating burden... at first. Proponents argued that actually because of summer electricity demands, the grid is in a good place to take on more demand at any time of year. Skeptics, of course, pointed out that this law won't really contribute in major ways to carbon reduction until the grid becomes less fossil fuel dependent.
Anne Barnard, "N.Y.C.’s Gas Ban Takes Fight Against Climate Change to the Kitchen", contributed by Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 5 January 2022, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/nyc’s-gas-ban-takes-fight-against-climate-change-kitchen
Critical Commentary
This article talks about the gas ban that was finally passed in New York City. NYC leads the US in gas burned from buildings, representing 5% of the national load each year. All new buildings will need to be electric-only, starting in 2023. Exceptions are made for some businesses, and for buildings above seven stories this law will go into effect in 2027. Affordable housing units may also escape the new law -- seems to me like there are a lot of ins and outs and exceptions that need to be studied. The article talks about how NYC was a tough sell because of the winter heating burden... at first. Proponents argued that actually because of summer electricity demands, the grid is in a good place to take on more demand at any time of year. Skeptics, of course, pointed out that this law won't really contribute in major ways to carbon reduction until the grid becomes less fossil fuel dependent.