Regulations for Local Law 97 Proposed by DOB as First Deadline Rapidly Approaches

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is proposing to add a new rule to establish the “procedures for reporting on complying with annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for buildings” as annual fines related to compliance with Local Law No. 97 are set to begin in 2024 for buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. Enacted in 2019, Local Law No. 97 requires building owners to report to the DOB beginning in 2025, whether their building complied with applicable GHG emissions limits for the prior year. In addition to laying out how to calculate a building’s carbon footprint, which will aid building owners with the math that can be quite complicated, the proposed draft rules include purchasing credits generated by projects such as wind and solar farms. However, the rule as proposed would disallow the use of renewable energy credits to offset greenhouse emissions attributed to utility — supplied electricity, by building owners where heating systems are powered by fossil fuels, such as natural gas and oil. In addition, the credits must be connected to New York City’s grid, limiting the amount of renewable energy credits to go around since there is little likelihood of many wind turbines or solar farms appearing in the five boroughs.

Source:    https://therealdeal.com/2022/10/07/proposed-rules-for-emissions-caps-leave-neither-side-happy/

DOB Proposed Rule: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/proposed_greenhouse_gas.pdf