Con Edison Thermal Energy Network Pilots in New York City

Piloting Utility Thermal Energy Network solutions for more equitable energy distribution across neighborhoods in the nation’s most populous city.

Charlie Marino

Estados Unidos

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Ubicación

Nueva York, NY, Estados Unidos

Cliente

Consolidated Edison

Estado del proyecto

Design Complete; Awaiting Approval for Construction

Buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in New York State. Most of these emissions come from onsite combustion of fossil fuels for basic needs, such as heating, hot water and cooking. Decarbonizing buildings therefore represents one of the most critical, and challenging, climate opportunities in dense urban environments. Yet there’s an alternative way to transition these buildings rather than full-building electrification.

Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) use shared underground piping and centralized thermal infrastructure to support low-carbon heating and cooling to multiple buildings. These systems enable heat recovery and load balancing across different types of buildings, making them particularly effective in dense cities like New York when paired with heat pumps operating on ambient temperature loops or ultra-low temperature hot water loops.

Utility Thermal Energy Networks (UTEN)

Consolidated Edison (Con Edison) is an energy company that provides electric, gas and steam services to approximately 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County. Enabled by the 2022 Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act, and taking a neighborhood approach, Con Edison is now piloting these systems in two major Manhattan neighborhoods: Rockefeller Center and Chelsea.

We are the engineer of record for both pilot projects, having led mechanical, electrical and plumbing design and energy modeling to inform system sizing, performance expectations, utility rate structures and performance expectations. Alongside Con Edison and Ecosystem Energy Services, our team helped validate UTEN designs as technically feasible, scalable solutions to reduce carbon emissions and optimizing energy use.

Housing units

372

Commercial Sq Ft

7.3 million

High ambitions at Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 12 commercial buildings covering 7.3 million square feet in Midtown Manhattan. Here, heat is recovered from Rockefeller Center’s year-round operating central chilled water plant to supply ultra-low temperature hot water to three customer buildings equipped with new heat pumps. Connected customer buildings can now decarbonize their heating needs without major electrical infrastructure required for the alternative, such as using air-source heat pumps located at the roof to generate heat.

The result? An annual estimated reduction of 1,575 metric tonnes of GHG emissions as measured against NYC Local Law 97 emissions limits applicable during the 2030–2034 compliance period. The Rockefeller Center UTEN pilot establishes another viable strategy for decarbonizing high rise commercial districts in dense urban cores.

Community focus in Chelsea

The Chelsea project recovers heat from a chilled water plant serving two nearby data center commercial building tenants and supplies ambient temperature to three designated disadvantaged apartment communities belonging to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

All 372 housing units will use the UTEN system for domestic hot water associated with new heat pumps and storage located in the building’s basements, while 36 apartments will also receive upgraded space heating and coming equipment to enable use of the UTEN system.

Acknowledging the role existing buildings play in carbon reduction, these pilot projects are exploring solutions for lower carbon emissions and equitable access to cleaner energy even in challenging retrofit conditions.