New York State Awards $15 Million for Clean Energy Projects

July 7, 2004

New York Governor George E. Pataki announced in late June the award of $15 million to support 52 distributed generation and combined heat and power (CHP) projects throughout the state. The 52 projects represent a total investment of $66 million, and include anaerobic digesters at a Kraft Foods cheese plant, two 200-kilowatt fuel cells at Grand Central Terminal, and in general a wide selection of microturbine, fuel cell, CHP, and biomass energy projects. The state is also funding eight product development projects that include fuel cells, a battery storage system, a variable-speed hydropower turbine, and a project that aims to install as much as 150 kilowatts of tidal energy turbines in New York City's East River. See the governor's press release.

A computer-generated image shows the future facade of the New York Times building glowing above a busy city street.

The future New York Times building will have a glass exterior, admitting daylight during the day and creating a transparent look at night. The building was designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Fox and Fowle Architects.
Image Credit: Screampoint

One project highlighted in the governor's press release is a natural- gas-fired combined heat and power system for the new Times Square headquarters of the New York Times Company. The 52-story building is expected to feature a number of innovative energy features, including a daylight-responsive shading system and a "green roof," a rooftop garden that helps insulate and cool the building. DOE's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) has been assisting with the daylighting design, as described in an article in LBL's Science Beat Magazine. Information on the building is also available from the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (the architecture firm that collaborated with Fox & Fowle Architects on the project) and the developer, Forest City Radner Companies.

Green buildings are becoming more common in New York City, as witnessed the winners of the city's first green buildings design competition on June 29th. Among the five winners is the Queens Botanical Garden, which is planning to build a new reception and administration building that will include a solar power system, a geothermal heat pump, natural ventilation, daylighting, and a green roof. The building is designed to earn a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. Two transit projects also won: a transportation hub that will use daylighting and natural ventilation, and a subway line that will incorporate a fuel cell and a geothermal heat pump system. And one of the winners is actually complete: the Brooklyn Ice House is an industrial building that has been converted into six residential units and uses radiant floor heating. The building is designed to earn a silver LEED rating. See the press release from the City of New York's Department of Environmental Protection.