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New York’s Public Service Commission approved two utility-scale thermal energy network projects in Haverstraw and Buffalo, with a combined planned cost of $111.5 million. The projects will test whether utilities can use underground and recovered waste heat to provide electric heating while limiting customer costs and preserving utility-sector jobs. The commission rejected nine other proposals, and the approved projects’ costs and performance remain to be tested.
New York’s Public Service Commission has approved two utility-scale thermal energy network projects in Haverstraw and Buffalo, authorizing a combined $111.5 million in planned spending to test alternatives to fossil-gas heating. The decision advances two pilot projects but rejects nine others, leaving their broader role in the state’s clean-energy plans unsettled.
In Haverstraw, utility Orange & Rockland plans to spend $50 million on a network that could serve up to 30 buildings. The proposed customers include single- and multifamily homes, commercial and government properties, and an elementary school. The system would draw heat from boreholes drilled on municipal land and from wastewater in the sewer network.
In Buffalo, National Fuel Gas plans to invest $61 million in a system using water from boreholes and heat recovered from wastewater. It is intended to serve low-income multifamily housing and displace some of the fossil-gas-fired boilers in the city’s existing downtown district heating system. Both proposals remain at the development stage; the source report says the projects are moving into further design work.
The commission also rejected nine other proposals, including projects in New York City and upstate communities. The approved projects will draw on $93 million in state funds to offset costs to utility customers. That funding comes from a $150 million state commitment to thermal networks, itself part of a broader fund of nearly $1 billion for climate and energy programs.
Testing a New Utility Heating Model
The two projects will test whether utilities can shift from delivering fossil gas to operating networks that supply heat through electric-powered systems. Thermal networks use pipes and wells to exchange heat with relatively steady underground temperatures or recover it from sources such as sewers and industrial facilities. That heat exchange can support heat pumps that replace gas boilers and furnaces.
The question is not only whether the systems can provide heating and cooling, but whether their construction and operating costs can be justified by the benefits to customers and the state’s climate goals. The source report says the economics of these systems are not yet clear. The pilot results could inform later decisions about whether to expand the approach and how to handle existing gas infrastructure.
The decision also has implications for utility workers and customers. The UpgradeNY coalition has promoted thermal networks as a way to reduce fossil-fuel use while retaining work for tradespeople who build and maintain underground systems. At the same time, state officials face concern about adding costs to energy bills that are already rising. The state funding for the two projects is intended to limit the amount charged to utility customers, but it does not settle the longer-term cost question.
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Two Projects, Nine Rejections
For four years, the UpgradeNY coalition of clean-energy, environmental and labor groups has urged New York regulators to approve projects that could convert neighborhoods from fossil-gas heating to electric systems. Its proposal centers on using networks of pipes and heat sources to improve heat-pump performance, while allowing gas utilities to continue investing in infrastructure and employing workers.
The commission’s decision is a partial approval of that agenda. The combined $111.5 million planned for Haverstraw and Buffalo is substantially below the broader portfolio sought: according to the source report, building the nine rejected projects would have required utilities to collect about $1 billion from customers. Those proposed projects included several high-profile plans in New York City and other upstate communities.
Thermal energy networks already serve campuses, industrial parks and cities in different parts of the world, and some existing systems use sewer heat. But the New York proposals would test a specific question: whether gas utilities can develop and run such networks at a scale that works for customers and aligns with state climate requirements.
“From a workers’ rights and environmental justice standpoint, it’s a win-win.”
— Theodore Moore, executive director of the Alliance for a Greater New York and a member of UpgradeNY
Costs and Performance Still Unproven
The approval does not establish whether either network will deliver benefits large enough to make its costs worthwhile. The source report identifies the balance between installation and operating costs, customer benefits and progress toward climate goals as a central unresolved issue. The projects’ eventual performance, customer experience and effect on utility bills have not yet been reported.
Further details are also not available in the source material, including construction schedules, final designs, the precise number of buildings ultimately connected, and how much heating demand will be met by each system. The Buffalo project is intended to replace only a portion of the existing system’s gas-fired boilers, but the amount is not specified. The commission’s rejection of nine proposals also leaves unclear whether any could be revised or reconsidered.
Design Work Before Construction
Orange & Rockland and National Fuel Gas are expected to move the Haverstraw and Buffalo proposals into further design and development. The utilities will need to work through system details, including the planned borefields, wastewater heat recovery and the buildings to be served. The source report does not provide construction start dates or a projected completion timeline.
As the plans develop, the central test will be whether the networks can operate as intended while keeping costs manageable for customers. Results from these two projects may shape future discussions about utility thermal networks in New York, but no decision to approve additional projects is included in the commission action described in the report.
Key Questions
What did New York approve?
The state Public Service Commission approved two utility thermal energy network projects, one in Haverstraw and one in Buffalo, with $111.5 million in combined planned spending.
How will the Haverstraw project work?
Orange & Rockland plans to use heat from municipal-land boreholes and sewer wastewater in a network intended to serve up to 30 residential, commercial, government and school buildings.
What is planned for Buffalo?
National Fuel Gas plans to combine heat from boreholes and wastewater recovery to serve low-income multifamily housing and replace some gas-fired boilers in the downtown district heating system.
Did regulators approve all the proposed projects?
No. The commission approved two proposals and rejected nine others, including projects in New York City and upstate communities.
When will the networks be built?
The source report says the projects are moving into further design and development but does not give construction start dates or completion timelines.
Source: rss
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