Just In! for February 10, 2024

The weekly newsletter of the New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO)

Just In! is NY-GEO's weekly news feed for members. See more information on memberships here. If we send you a complimentary copy and you're not a member of NY-GEO, it means we value your role in the transition to renewable heating, but without a membership, please don't count on getting Just In! weekly. For past issues, check out the Just In! Archive available on the NY-GEO.org website.

NY-GEO 2024 CONFERENCES –

See details in the 2024 listings in the Events section below in green type.

Energy Catalyst Awarded NYS Funding for Heat Pump Manufacturing in Troy – “Governor Kathy Hochul today (2024 02 05) announced that over $15 million has been awarded to support 19 projects across New York State through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative…(including) Energy Catalyst, LLC (Capital Region) – $850,000 ESD Grant, $1.135 Million Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit: Energy Catalyst, LLC (EC) is a growing heat pump manufacturer and technology company that produces the only ground source Energy Star-certified heat pump in North America that can reuse existing home baseboards and radiators. EC will construct a new manufacturing facility including assemble line, testing lab, training area, and office spaces in North Troy.” Press release link here.

NYSERDA’s “Intro to the IRA” Page – “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a hot topic. But there can be a lot of questions about what it is and how it works. If you want to learn about it, read on. This high-level intro to the IRA will get you up to speed on the basics, and how it translates into energy and financial savings for you and your business.” Web page here.

Nine States Pledge to Ramp Up Heat Pump Use – Allison McMunn “States from coast to coast have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the transition to pollution-free residential buildings by significantly expanding heat pump sales to meet heating, cooling and water heating demand in coming years. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), led by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), has been signed by directors of environmental agencies from California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. Under the MOU, these states have set a shared goal for heat pumps to meet at least 65% of residential-scale heating, air conditioning and water heating shipments by 2030 and 90% by 2040 across the participating states.” Article link here.

MA – HVAC “Retrofits of Regret” Are Coming - As Massachusetts’s gas utilities have forecasted that customer costs are going to skyrocket in the coming decades, a new report from Groundwork Data commissioned by ZeroCarbonMA explores how buildings built today on gas will face heating bills that are slated to double by the early 2030s. These rising costs will force owners of the average single-family home built today to pay at least $7,000 to swap out their gas equipment ahead of schedule, imposing a disruptive and avoidable ‘Retrofit of Regret’ on new home buyers. Press release link here.

Why Manhattan Apartments Are Over Heated – Patrick Sisson – Bloomberg – “Your old radiator is a pandemic-fighting weapon. Turn-of-the-century faith in ventilation to combat disease pushed engineers to design steam heating systems that still overheat apartments today.” In response to the 1918-1919 global Spanish Influenza epidemic which “caused just over 20,000 deaths in New York City alone…The Board of Health in New York City ordered that windows should remain open to provide ventilation, even in cold weather. In response, engineers began devising heating systems with this extreme use case in mind. Steam heating and radiators were designed to heat buildings on the coldest day of the year with all the windows open."  Article link here.

New Jersey Releases Geo Baseline Report – “Governor Murphy recently signed Executive Order 3163, which set a goal of electrifying 400,000 residential properties and 20,000 commercial spaces by 2030. This Baseline Report highlights the opportunity for growth in adoption and meaningful GHG reductions the State could realize across building sectors through use of GSHP.”  Report link here.

Special Interests Threatening Decarbonization in International Codes - Michael Waite, Director of Codes and Building Standards, ACEEE (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy) – “The International Code Council is violating its own policies in service of special interests that want to remove key energy efficiency and decarbonization measures from a pending model energy code.  ACEEE and allies are calling for an urgent remedy.” Article link here.

CA Regulators Reject Utility’s Electrification Budget – Jeff St. John – Canary Media – “Fearful of short-term rate hikes, regulators nixed Southern California Edison’s $744M building electrification plan. Environmental groups say the climate can’t wait.” Article link here. 

Steven Powell, President and CEO of Southern California Edison, advocated for building electrification funding.

Valentine’s Day: Breaking Up with Gas – Caleb Heeringa – Gas Leaks – Feel free to check out this quick collection of 8 elegant slides on the hazards and impacts of methane gas. Slides link here.

Geothermal $10k Refundable Tax Credit Bill Gaining Momentum – You Can Help !! – NY-GEO’s Legislation Committee has been hard at work rounding up support for S8106 Kennedy/A8588 Rivera. The bill will raise the cap on New York’s 25% geo tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000 and would make it refundable for those with minimal state tax liability. To date, hundreds of letters have been emailed to Governor Hochul and Legislators asking them to include the bill in this year’s budget. 17 of his colleagues have joined Assemblymember Rivera in co-sponsoring of the bill - Simon, Lunsford, Stern, Burke, Kelles, Gunther, Shimsky, Ardila, Wallace, Hevesi, Weprin, Bichotte Hermelyn, McDonald, Seawright, Conrad, Colton, Paulin, and Dinowitz. If you haven't already, why not take 30 seconds now to write your legislator, using this quick and easy form? If you have sent a message and your representative is listed above, why not send them a thank you note?



Heat Pumps Widen Lead Over Gas Furnaces - AHRI - Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute - 21% more heat pumps were sold in the U.S. compared to gas furnaces last year, up from a 12 percent advantage in 2022. Article link here.

Summer Has Long Stressed Electric Grids. Now Winter Does, Too – Ivan Penn - New York Times – “ ‘We’re seeing both summer and winter peaks growing, but we’re seeing winter peaks growing faster,’ said Jim Robb, chief executive of the (North America Electric Reliability Corporation).  ‘The demand curve just shoots up very, very quickly.’ ” Article link here.

Denver’s Sexy Pizza Goes Electric, Moves Away from Gas Ovens – Michael Booth – The Colorado Sun – “When you electrify a big pizza pie that’s amore. Colorado restaurants are starting to give up the gas in favor of smart electric ovens that don’t give off greenhouse emissions.” Sexy Pizza shift lead Angela Hilton notes their new Pizza Master 983 electric ovens “ ‘take, like, 15 minutes to heat up, which is really nice,’… Sexy Pizza, now with four locations, used to keep some of its gas pizza ovens on all night to hold a steady temperature and be ready for a morning catering rush.  At Sexy Pizza,…one baker like Hilton can handle a two dozen pie order for a Montessori school fundraiser rather than the two a big order would have taken on a more temperamental gas oven.  The most important constituency, though, is the outcome for the pie itself.  Sexy Pizza finds the electric process brings the crust out with ‘a little more air, slightly fluffier.’ ”  Kyle Peters, Director of Operations at Sexy Pizza concludes “Everybody’s happy.”  Article link here.

Leak Risks From Underground Natural Gas Storage – Taylor Kate Brown, Floodlight – Inside Climate News – At 400 sites across 32 states, natural gas is stored in giant underground geological formations accessed by multiple wells. Some of these wells are the sole barrier separating the gas from the atmosphere, and many of these wells are decades-old, not originally designed for storage, and have gone through the stresses of repeated cycles of injecting and withdrawing gas. Two massive, and many smaller, methane leaks have occurred in the last 8 years due to failures of such access wells. Regulations addressing the problem are rolling out, but more data is needed to identify those wells with the highest risk of failure. Article link here.

Micro Air Source Heat Pumps Enter the Market – Alison F. Takemura – Canary Media – Sometimes advertised as a window-mounted option that can fit the needs of some renters, “these bite-sized heat pumps have two major limitations. First, they’re designed to heat and cool the equivalent of a large room or, at most, a small studio…Second, the micro heat pumps available now only work in temperatures down to about 40˚F, so they’re best for mild climates." Article link here.

How Do Voters View US Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Exportation? – Maria Virginia Olano – Canary Media –  A recent poll found that 62% of likely voters supported pausing approvals for new LNG export facilities, while 28% opposed it. Democrats were more likely to favor a pause. The poll also found that 60% of likely voters support ​“taking measures to limit the amount of natural gas America exports to other countries.” The Biden administration has paused approval of new LNG export terminals. However, a significant number of facilities have already received approval or are already under construction. Article link here

Canadian Virtual Power Plant “Constructed” in Just 6 Months – Renewable Energy World –“EnergyHub, a distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) provider, in partnership with Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), has enrolled more than 100,000 homes in the Save on Energy Peak Perks program in six months to create what they’re calling the largest residential virtual power plant (VPP) in Canada. With 100,000 homes enrolled, EnergyHub and the IESO say the VPP is capable of delivering peak demand reduction of up to 90 MW, the equivalent of taking a city the size of Kingston, ON off the grid during peak times. Flexible capacity is expected to climb as enrollment continues, they said…According to a recent report by the Rocky Mountain Institute, virtual power plants – groups of internet-connected devices like batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats that can be actively controlled – are an overlooked resource for advancing grid objectives.”   Article link here.

NY Faltering on 70% Clean Electricity by 2030 Goal – Marie French – Politico – “New York has long pushed to rely on 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030. It’s clear now the state is no longer on track — derailed by growing costs, canceled projects and regulators’ refusal to provide more ratepayer-funded subsidies… Including offshore wind projects that are seeking higher prices through a pending competitive process, New York’s current renewable portfolio is set to provide about 63 percent of statewide electricity in 2030, according to figures from the state’s energy authority.” Article link here.

California Experiments with Income-based Electric Bills – Jeff St. John – Canary Media – A widely debated “plan to tie utility bills to customer income is dividing clean energy groups — and drawing a challenge from lawmakers who want to stop it.” Under the proposal, electric bills would be made up of a fixed charge that would be linked to the ratepayer’s income, coupled with a per kWh “volumetric” charge that reflects how much electricity the ratepayer uses. Currently, bills from the major California utilities are primarily volumetric. Article link here.

How Has PA Governor Shapiro Changed His Stance on Gas? - Kiley Bense - Inside Climate News - "Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor has sought to regulate natural gas development and embrace it at the same time, a sharp contrast to his approach to fracking as Attorney General." Article link here.

Impact of Wealth on Solar Adoption – “Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has released the latest edition of its annual report, Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends. The report is based on address-level data for 3.4 million residential households across the country that installed solar onsite through year-end 2022, representing 86% of all U.S. residential PV systems. It describes trends in solar-adopter household income, race and ethnicity, rurality, education levels, occupation, age, home value, housing type and tenure, and prevalence within 'disadvantaged communities'. The report also explores how characteristics of PV installations vary with household income level, including differences in the use of third-party ownership, system size, and the use of battery storage…” What would a similar report on geothermal installations look like? Link to the report and slides here.



Climate Updates:

Heat Deaths Surging – Victoria St. Martin – Inside Climate News – “With heat deaths surging in Texas, Arizona and across the nation, researchers model a myriad of heat effects on the human body and focus on the disproportionate impacts suffered by the elderly and people of color.” Article link here.

* Deaths associated with exposure to natural heat were defined as deaths with any underlying or contributing causes of death having International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes X30, P81.0, or T67. Any records including code W92 (“Exposure to excessive heat of man-made origin”) were excluded. In total, 3,066 heat-related deaths occurred during 2018–2020.

More than 112 Dead from Chilean Wildfires – Annie Correal and John Bartlett - NY Times – “Days after devastating wildfires ripped through Chile’s Pacific Coast, ravaging entire neighborhoods and trapping people fleeing in cars, officials said on Sunday that at least 112 people had been killed and hundreds remained missing and warned that the number of dead could rise sharply...The cyclical climate phenomenon known as El Niño has exacerbated droughts and high temperatures through parts of the continent, creating conditions that experts say are ripe for forest fires.” Article link here.

Maine Becomes 3^rd State to Endorse Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty - "Maine lawmakers announced their endorsement of the proposal for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty this week, making it the third U.S. state, after Hawai’i and California, to join the global call for a fast and equitable energy transition. This comes on the heels of an endorsement from Key West, Florida, as coastal communities increasingly demand protection for the people and places they care for from rising temperatures, pollution, loss of biodiversity, among other threats caused by fossil fuel production." Article link here.

Maine Senate bill sponsor Stacy Brenner

Record January Caps Earth’s First 12-Month Period Above 1.5°C: - Andrew Freedman – Axios - "New data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that the Earth reached a potentially ominous temperature milestone last month, marking the first time that the global average surface temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels during a full 12-month period.  It may be only a temporary breach of the key Paris Agreement target, but highlights mounting concerns that climate change may already be spiraling out of control." Article link here.

"We know from a recent study that every tenth of a degree in temperature rise that we prevent keeps 140 million of our brothers and sisters in habitable zones on this planet. And nothing has changed my basic conviction about the key: we need to keep building huge movements to finally break the political power of the fossil fuel industry and force the emergency conversion to clean energy." —Bill McKibben



This Week's Fun Pic

Frequent Sources for Just In! briefs:

Green Energy Times

City & State First Read

POLITICO Weekly NY & NJ Energy email)

Canary Media

National Building Electrification Network & Sunstone Strategies



Just in! thanks NY-GEO board member John Ciovacco of Aztech Geothermal for his frequent proofreading contributions to this publication and Paul Maliszewski for his work on the briefs.

EVENTS:

*Indicates a New Listing or Updated Information

2024 02 14– IGSHPA Town Hall with Steve Kavanaugh on GSHP Cost Containment: Low Hanging Fruit Not in the Ground Loop – 11:30 am ET – For four (4) decades the mantra of ground source heat pump (GSHP) advocates has been, “we need to get the cost of the loop down’”. This has proved largely ineffective due to three primary reasons – which will be discussed during the session. Steve Kavanaugh is a noted geothermal expert who has been a featured speaker at the NY-GEO conference. Register here.

2024 02 15 – Cool Calc Manual J Training – NY Clean Heat program - Manual J is the officially sanctioned way to calculate building heat load under New York’s Clean Heat program. Expand your knowledge of building energy science by attending this free webinar. Register here.

*2024 02 24 – HVAC – What Homeowners Are Thinking Part 1 – ACHR -2:00-3:00 pm ET – “The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration (ACHR) News commissioned a study to discover what homeowners were thinking when it came to purchasing an HVAC system. The goal was to provide contractors with the knowledge to close more sales. In part 1 of this series, we will cover home owners’ thoughts regarding online views, visit fees, pricing transparency, expected lead times and payment terms.” NY-GEO member ClimateMaster is one of the sponsors. Register here.

*2024 02 29 – HVAC – What Homeowners Are Thinking Part 2 – ACHR -2:00-3:00 pm ET – “The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration (ACHR) News commissioned a study to discover what homeowners were thinking when it came to purchasing an HVAC system. The goal was to provide contractors with the knowledge to close more sales. In part 1 of this series, we will cover home owners’ thoughts regarding online views, visit fees, pricing transparency, expected lead times and payment terms.” NY-GEO member Joe Parsons of ClimateMaster is one of six speakers on the panel. Register here.

 2024 03 06 – The Future of Indoor Air – Policy Solutions for Clean and Healthy Buildings – 11:00 am ET – RMI Carbon Free Buildings - “Despite being one of the top five major health risks in the US, indoor air pollution is currently overlooked and unregulated. Burning fossil fuels in buildings releases additional health-harming pollutants that exacerbate climate change. A recent report from RMI summarizes how indoor air quality guidelines are a critical first step to understand indoor air pollutants, and how they can inform additional policy measures to mitigate risk.” 5 panelists will explore policy solutions for clean and healthy buildings. Register here

2024 03 06 – NY Thermal Energy Networks Summit – 8:30 am to 12:30 pm ET – “The Building Decarbonization Coalition, NYS Pipe Trades Association and City & State NY are proud to present The NY Thermal Energy Networks (TENS) Summit:  Scale up! Decarbonizing NY’s Neighborhoods at the Albany Capital Center…New York has positioned itself to be a national leader in using TENs with utility projects for several of these neighborhood-scale decarbonization infrastructure projects proposed for development across the state.” Register here for this free in-person (non virtual) event.



*2024 03 07 - Renewable Heat Now March Power Hour – 7:00-8:00 pm ET – Renewable Heat Now (RHN) is organizing intensively for NY’s transition to clean, fossil-fuel free heating. Join RHN for its monthly Power Hour, a strategy meeting designed to inspire and inform. “All are welcome to attend, and if you’re new to the movement for renewable heat, these meetings are a great place to learn and get plugged in!” Register here. 

 2024 03 12 to 14 - Thermal Energy Networks Symposium in Rochester, MN – Geothermal Rising - “It is no small feat to tear up streets and install thermal pipelines that share energy between buildings; however, we now have the tools, the talent, the trades, and the engineering to do this at a time when geothermal solutions are more efficient and affordable than ever. All that is needed is for you to begin your journey by registering for the Thermal Energy Networks Symposium and be prepared to start your community on the path to energy independence.” Registration fees from $575 to $775.  Register here.

2024 03 13 - Renewable Heat Now’s Rally & Lobby Day for the NY HEAT Act in Albany – 11 am to 4 pm ET – “Join Renewable Heat Now and multiple allied groups in calling on Governor Hochul and the Legislature to put the NY HEAT Act in the budget!" Click here for more.

*2024 03 13 - Evaluating Geothermal Heat Pumps with REopt - 11:30 am–1:00 pm ET - .2 CEUs – “This training program is designed to educate agencies on geothermal heat pumps (GHP) and equip them with the skills to model and evaluate these systems for their specific site(s) using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) REopt tool. The REopt tool, available for free, offers a user-friendly web interface and open-source code, enabling users to assess the techno-economic feasibility of distributed energy resources, including solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, battery storage, geothermal heat pumps, combined heat and power, and thermal energy storage. Register here.

2024 03 14 – Clean Heat Program Stakeholders Meeting – 9:00-10:00 am ET - The NYS Clean Heat Utility Joint Management Committee (JMC) will host the next quarterly meeting of the Working Group Series for Participating Contractors and Industry Partners. This series is billed as an ongoing platform for contractors and industry partners affiliated with NYS Clean Heat to discuss program improvements and address questions related to the program. Registration not available yet.

*2024 03 20 – NY Renews Albany Rally for the Climate, Jobs & Justice Package, which includes NY HEAT - 10am-4pm – New York State Capitol, 89 Washington Ave, Albany NY 12234 - From NY Renews, a group that was key to passing New York’s Climate Law – “we’ll be calling on Governor Hochul and the state legislature to pass key climate legislation along with the People’s Climate Justice Budget to invest in critical climate and environmental justice projects across the state. Together we can kickstart New York’s clean energy transition, lower energy bills for families, and create good, union jobs along the way..”  Register here.

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NY-GEO 2024 Conferences

Yes, That’s Plural

We are excited to share there will be two conference events in 2024 with content focused on both the diverse residential and commercial markets in New York State. The programs will include dynamic keynote speakers and panels, educational tracks that are relevant and applicable, and an opportunity to network with exhibitors showcasing products and services that will support and advance your knowledge.

2024 04 08 and 09 – NY-GEO 2024 - Albany – Once again hosted at the Albany Marriott, we bring together the best of the best in the Geothermal Heat Pump Industry. We will open with an exhibitor mixer on April 8 followed by a full day of programming on the 9th with focused attention on Upstate. NY-GEO 2023 maxed out with attendees and exhibitors, so register today if you don’t want to miss out. Check out the Draft Schedule for the Albany conference here.

·      To register for Albany and learn more about becoming a sponsor and or exhibitor click here.

·      Book your stay at the Albany Marriott by clicking here.

2024 10 21 to 23 – NY-GEO 2024 – New York City – The New York Brooklyn Bridge Marriott will host a two-day conference with sessions and tracks, the NY-GEO Annual Dinner, and a day of local project site tours. This is NY-GEO's first conference Downstate and will emphasize content on how to address densely populated areas and large commercial buildings.

·      To register for NYC and learn more about becoming a sponsor and or exhibitor click here.

·      Book your stay at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott by clicking here.

NY-GEO Members can attend the conferences at a discounted rate, so now is a good time to renew your membership through 2024.

NY-GEO members: to receive the discounted member rates, employees of your organization must be populated in the member database. Reach out to NY-GEO Executive Director Christine Hoffer at christine@ny-geo.org for assistance.

Not a Member? Click here to Join! 

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2024 05 28 to 30 – IGSHPA Research Conference - The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) is pleased to announce that the next IGSHPA Research Conference will be held at Polytechnique Montréal. This is the fourth in a series of research conferences held in Denver (2017), Stockholm (2018), and Las Vegas (2022).  Conference website here

JOBS !                                                                    * = new listing

We NEED Your NY-GEO Member Job Postings – We only have 6 jobs posted right now so please add any openings members have to our NY-GEO Job Listings to gain visibility and help recruit new employees to your organization. This feature is available to all NY-GEO members, simply log into your account, select the NY-GEO Job Listings in the left toolbar, select Add in the upper right, and complete the form. If you need assistance, let us know at christine@ny-geo.org.

New Yorkers for Clean Power is proud to lead the charge for green jobs through Clean Energy Careers NY, a collaborative initiative to create equitable clean energy careers pathways in New York to help achieve the state’s climate and clean energy goals…”We're excited to launch the Clean Energy Careers New York Newsletter! The newsletter is chock-full of Clean Energy Careers NY resources, event information, job opportunities, and more. If you're a job seeker, a trainer, an employer, or a clean energy advocate, this newsletter is for you! (listed 2023 07 22) Read the newsletter here.

The Building Performance Contractors Association (BPCA) Career Center is here. 

Ongoing – NYSERDA is hiring! The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has ongoing recruitment opportunities. Join our email list or check this page periodically to learn about new career opportunities. All qualified individuals will be evaluated for each relevant position for which they apply. Opportunities include:

Become an NY-GEO Member

NY GEO is the driving force in the mass adoption of Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pumps for residential, commercial, and utility-scale heating and cooling in New York State. NY-GEO's mission is to grow the geothermal heat pump industry and develop its workforce while educating policymakers building/property developers and residents about the benefits of geothermal heat pumps.

We are a member-funded, non-profit trade organization and we depend on YOUR SUPPORT to expand the use of clean, renewable, geothermal heating and cooling systems for the benefit

of all.

Learn more about the benefits of becoming an NY-GEO member and why your membership is important to advancing GHP, Click here.