Just In! for February 8, 2025

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.

Federal Outlook for Geothermal Heat Pumps - GeoExchange Update – “Recent actions by the Trump Administration have caused alarm and concern within the geothermal heating and cooling community. It is important to understand the actual impacts of executive orders and their relevance to the industry. It is also vital to recognize what the new 119^th Congress might have in store for us… Geothermal tax credits are currently unaffected…One program that has some relevance for the geo industry that might be affected are the IRA-funded, state energy office-led home energy efficiency rebate programs.” Link.

In Show of Force, Lawmakers & New Yorkers Rally Behind NY HEAT Act in Albany – Sumer Shaikh - Renewable Heat Now (RHN) News – “In a sign of growing momentum, nearly 30 lawmakers supported New Yorkers from across the state to urge the Assembly to pass the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition (NY HEAT) Act, legislation that will address the energy affordability and climate crises and save families hundreds on their energy bills.”  350 advocates from across the state attended the rally and then visited 150 legislative offices to stress the benefits and importance of including NY HEAT in the budget. This article as well as a livestream of the rally can be found at this link.

Renewable Heat Now February 4^th Rally at the Million Dollar Staircase at the NYS Capitol building.

Geo is the Least Costly Option for Many Commercial Projects – The combination of a great technology coupled with current Federal and NY State incentives is making geothermal heating and cooling the go-to, least expensive choice for commercial projects in New York State. The slide below was prepared by Jens Ponikau of Buffalo Geothermal for a multi-family apartment building proposed for Ithaca. It illustrates how geothermal, at an estimated $334,000 total cost after incentives, costs less than a conventional HVAC system estimated at $750,000. 

Drinking Water as Heat Source in New 6.5mw Heat Pump in Denmark’s Oldest District Heating Network – Henrik Schmidt, Hans Martin Bayer Kuhl – Hot/Cool Magazine - “In line with the 2030 energy strategy plans, Frederiksberg District Heating (DH) Company has taken a significant step toward fuel-free district heating production. Marking 120 years since the network’s inception, a new 6.5MW renewable heat pump system has been established - right where Denmark’s oldest district heating network began.” Page 16 at this link.

National Grid Pulls Plug on a Geothermal Pilot Program in MA - Bhaamati Borkhetaria - Commonwealth Beacon – “National Grid has quietly scrapped a project that would have brought geothermal energy to low-income customers and environmental justice communities in Lowell, citing higher than anticipated costs. The program in Lowell was one of three pilots across the state testing whether geothermal energy could displace the use of fossil fuels for heating, air conditioning, and gas appliances. National Grid has another project under development in Boston and Eversource has one that’s already operating in Framingham.” Thanks to NY-GEO member Paul Coons for this tip.  Link.

National Grid drills a test bore for their UMass Lowell geothermal pilot in 2023. (National Grid photo)

Jo Anne Simon Will Take Over NY HEAT Act in the Assembly – Jack Arpey – Spectrum News 1 – “New York State Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon will take over the NY HEAT Act in the Assembly from now-state Sen. Pat Fahy. The bill has passed in the state Senate twice, and Fahy worked to get the bill over the finish line in the Assembly right up until the last hours of the 2024 legislative session, and her last hours in the lower chamber. Simon told Spectrum News 1 that she is honored to pick up the bill, and she will fight ‘relentlessly’ to see it passed.” Link.

Vermont Faces Potential Retrenchment in Climate Ambition - Nathaniel Eisen - “After a clean heat policy became a millstone for Democrats in November’s election, the state’s ambitious climate targets are themselves in the crosshairs.” Link.

Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) February Newsletter - Panama Bartolomy, BDC Executive Director – Building Decarb Digest - The BDC puts out an exciting and informative monthly newsletter. The February issue includes notices for upcoming webinars on decarbonization policy in Maryland and California as well as news briefs, shorts on 3 new policy reports, and updates on policy in 10 states, including NY. Link.

Boston Sets Net-Zero Building Standards – Joe Burns - Facilities Dive - “The Boston Zoning Commission has approved an amendment to the city’s zoning code that requires most large new buildings to have net-zero carbon emissions from the day they open, according to a release Thursday from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. The amendment sets a net-zero emissions standard for new project filings after July 1, 2025, that contain 15 units or more, are a minimum of 20,000 square feet, or add 50,000 square feet or more to existing buildings. Buildings are the source of nearly 71% of the community’s carbon emissions, according to the release.” Link.

National Grid Workers Authorize Strike – John Lynch – WALK 97.5 -“Unionized National Grid workers, whose contract expires at midnight on Feb. 13 voted to authorize a strike if a new pact isn’t reached by then. The union represents nearly 1,200 National Grid workers. National Grid serves around 600,000 customers on Long Island.” Link.

Energy Transitions Commission Report on Zero Carbon Buildings – February 2025 – This wide-ranging report looks at many aspects of building decarbonization. It examines ground source heat pumps primarily in a networked context. Link to this 170 page report.

Musk and Tesla’s Slumping Sales – “Tesla electric-vehicle registrations in California fell about 12% last year, according to industry data, indicating mounting challenges for the automaker in the key U.S. market. While high interest rates, tough competition and the introduction of a restyled Model 3 sedan hurt the EV maker's sales in California, the loss of business was likely exacerbated by CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the U.S. election.”   In addition, author Bill Mckibben notes “Tesla is also running into trouble across the pond, where Musk has been meddling in European politics, throwing his weight behind far-right parties. In the European Union, Tesla registrations fell 13% last year, but dropped 41% in Germany, the bloc’s biggest BEV market. Last month, Tesla registrations dropped by about 63% in France, 44% in Sweden, and 38% in Norway.”  Link.

Ground Albedo and Bifacial Solar Modules – Britt Heller – Heatspring Magazine – “Bifacial solar modules have become the de facto choice for utility-scale PV ground mount projects in recent years. Unlike traditional modules, they capture light on both sides, offering production gains of 5-25% through their transparent back sheet design… the share of the market of installed power which is expected to be bifacial, is estimated to grow from 5% in 2017 to 90% by 2033.” Article and 3 minute video at this link.

How Much in Subsidies Do Fossil Fuels Receive? - Hannah Ritchie – Our World in Data - “In this article, I explain the scale of fossil fuel subsidies and where these numbers come from. Because subsidies can be defined in different ways - production, consumption, explicit, implicit - people can quote very different numbers to this question, ranging from hundreds of billions of US dollars to as much as $7 trillion (ten times as much).” Link.

In NY Public Election Financing Increased the Influence of Small Donations – Rebecca C. Lewis - City& State – For NYS Legislative races, “…a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice concluded that the inaugural cycle with the new system demonstrated proof that it is working as intended… In 2024, small-dollar donations ($250 and under) – and the public matching funds that came from those donations – represented nearly 50% of candidates’ total campaign funding. In 2022, those small donations represented just 11% of campaign funding, and in 2020, they represented just 13% of total campaign funding.” Link.

NY-GEO Conference Highlights

Electrifying the Majority: How do we move from early adopters to heat pumps for all? 

**Presented on October 22, 2024, at NY-GEO 2024 in Brooklyn, NY**

New York’s Climate Action Plan envisions at least 1 million homes electrifying by 2030 and 85% of buildings in New York heated with heat pumps by 2050. To reach that scale, we need to move rapidly from installing heat pumps in only the homes that can afford the upfront costs today, to installing heat pumps in every home that is getting a new heating or cooling system. How can we achieve this major shift when so many homes are in desperate need of weatherization and electric service upgrades just to be “heat pump ready”? Then how can we make sure that heat pumps are just as affordable and available for low-income homes as they are for higher income households? This panel explored the barriers to widespread and equitable heat pump installation and offer some paths forward for shifting to electrification for all.

Moderator:

• Avni Pravin / AGREE

Panel:

• Sameer Ranade / NYSERDA
• Sahara James/ KC3
• Jenna Lawson / Climate Solutions Accelerator

Session YouTube Recording

Presentation Deck

Clockwise from upper left: Avni Pravin from the Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) leads the Electrifying the Majority panel at the NY-GEO 2024 Conference in Brooklyn with panelists Sahara James from Kinetic Communities Consulting (KC3), Sameer Ranade of NYSERDA, and Jenna Lawson from the Clean Energy Hub at the Genesee/Finger Lakes Climate Solutions Accelerator.

All Pics from NY-GEO 2024 Brooklyn Are Posted !!! – Conference Co-Chair John Ciovacco has edited and posted 540 Day Two pictures of the October 21-23 NY-GEO Conference in Brooklyn. They now join the 730 pictures he had earlier posted from Day One. Check out the action and perhaps see your pic here.

Early Bird Pricing is Open for NY-GEO 2025 in Beautiful Saratoga Springs from April 22^nd- 24^th - NY-GEO hosted two conferences in 2024 with a combined attendance of over 1,000 people. In 2025 we will hold just one conference (i.e. April 2025 in Saratoga) . NY-GEO has proven to be the must-attend geothermal conference to connect, share insights and explore the latest advances in the GSHP industry. What to expect at NY-GEO 2025:

• Pre-Conference Site Tours and Geothermal Drilling Demonstrations
• Two Days of Education with Multiple Tracks
• NEW Larger Exhibitor Space
•  Annual Dinner and Top Job Awards

Mark your calendars and be part of the geothermal conversation. Your voice, expertise and participation are what makes NY-GEO conferences so valuable! Learn More and Register for NY-GEO 2025. 

Climate Updates:

"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

Report: 2 Degrees C Climate Rise Likely – Author Bill McKibben sent an email with this summary of a new study: “Climate scientist James Hansen has published a new study concluding the world is on track for more than 2 degrees Celsius in warming by 2045… The new research, published in the journal Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, says that we have been artificially cooling the planet with aerosol pollution for years. With new shipping regulations limiting these aerosols, this cooling effect is waning and warming will ramp up rapidly – probably by about 0.2 or 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade. ‘Unless actions are taken to reduce global warming,’ the study warns, ‘shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is likely within the next 20-30 years.’ ” For perspective the Paris Climate agreement was based on keeping temperature rise below 1.5 degrees C to avoid the massive suffering from the worst impacts of climate change. And the shutdown of the AMOC would cause significant sea level rise along the US East Coast and to make England and Northern Europe vastly colder, among other impacts.  Link to the Hansen Study.  Here’s a link to an informative Inside Climate News article about the study.

Data Scientists Restore a Climate Justice Tool Taken Down by Trump - Anika Jane Beamer - Inside Climate News – “As one of its first acts, the Trump administration removed the online data tool used to allocate money to environmental justice communities. In two days, a coalition of data scientists had restored it on an independent internet domain.” Link.

Frequent Sources for Just In! briefs:

City & State First Read

POLITICO (Weekly NY & NJ Energy email)

Canary Media

Sunstone Strategies & the National Building Electrification Network

HEATMAP

Author Bill McKibben

Renewable Energy World

Inside Climate News

Building Decarbonization Coalition

Renewable Heat Now

NY State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)



Just in! is produced each week by NY-GEO board member Bill Nowak. Thanks to fellow NY-GEO board member John Ciovacco of Aztech Geothermal for his weekly proofreading contributions to this publication and Paul Maliszewski for his work on the briefs. We welcome your feedback and suggestions sent to billnowa@gmail.com. 

EVENTS:

*Indicates a New Listing ** Indicates Updated Information

2025 02 10 – National Grid’s Stakeholder Webinar Non-Pipe Alternatives – 12:00 to 2:00 pm ET - “On December 13, 2024, The Brooklyn Union Gas Company d/b/a National Grid NY and KeySpan Gas East Corporation d/b/a National Grid (the “Companies”) jointly submitted their Non-Pipeline Alternatives Implementation Plan (‘NPA Implementation Plan’…The Companies will be revising and circulating a second draft of the NPA Implementation Plan by January 31, 2025, and will hold a second stakeholder meeting to receive input from all parties and interested stakeholders on the revised NPA Implementation Plan.” Link for the February 10th meeting. Passcode is sg6qw3GF.

2025 02 11 & 12 – Building Performance Contractors Conference – The Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs, NY - “Join us for the inaugural BPCA Biennial Conference, where industry leaders, innovators, and sustainability advocates converge to explore the future of building performance!... This groundbreaking event will focus on strategies, technologies, and best practices to enhance efficiency and sustainability in building operations.” Link.

2025 02 13 – Selecting a Ground Source Heat Pump Team – 10:00 am to 3:00 pm ET – This “IGSHPA course (is) designed as a guide for architects, engineers/designers, building owners, client representative, developers, project managers and general contractors.” Among the objectives: “Develop, specify and issue concise project documents”. Register here.

*2025 02 13 – How New Yorkers Can Stop the Utility Spending Spree – 6:00 pm ET – Alliance for a Green Economy - “Join this virtual briefing to learn about legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Solages and Senator Brouk to restrict how monopoly utility companies can use ratepayer money.” Register here.

2025 02 19 – Electrify Now Explores Geothermal Heat Pumps – 3:00 pm ET - NY-GEO board member John Ciovacco, President of Aztech Geothermal, will present in this session of the Electrify Now series, which educates consumers on the Whys and Hows of replacing fossil fuel devices with clean electric alternatives. “Learn about the most efficient HVAC system available, which harnesses the naturally existing heat contained within the earth.” In-depth description of event here. Register here.

2025 02 19 – Horror Stories from the Mud Pit – 3:00 pm ET – Free California Geo Underground Learning Session – “Join our panel who will share their stories and lessons learned’ with mud rotary drilling so that as an industry we can reduce and eliminate Horror Stories from the Mud Pit! Learn more about the drilling process and how it can be more effectively incorporated into the planning and design phases of a GSHP project.” Register here.

*2025 02 20 – Renewable Heat Now February Power Hour– 7:00 pm ET - “Join Renewable Heat Now for our monthly virtual power hour! These meetings are a great place to learn, get plugged in, and take quick and easy but impactful actions with us. We're fighting for policies and funding to phase fossil fuels out of buildings to fight climate change, lower utility bills, create good green jobs, and make New York healthier! This month’s session will feature Jo Ann Simon, the new Assembly sponsor of NY HEAT, who took over from Assembly Member Patricia Fahy, who has moved to the NY Senate” Register here.

*2025 02 27 – National Grid LTP Technical Conference - Thermal Energy Network/District Geothermal - 2:00 – 4:00 pm ET - As part of its Long Term Planning (LTP) process, National Grid will be hosting a session on Thermal Energy Network/District Geothermal. Contact NY-GEO Director of Operations John Rath for background at jrfree49@yahoo.com. Click here to attend.

2025 02 28 - NYS Codes Council – 10:00 am ET with public comment period at the end – The Council is currently involved with establishing the next Uniform Code and Energy Code, which are to take effect in 2026. New York’s All-Electric New Building Act is to be enacted as part of this process. The meeting of the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council on Friday December 06, 2024 was rescheduled to January 16th via videoconference call (WebEx) at the following locations:

·       99 Washington Ave., Albany, in Conference Rooms 505, 1112 & 1135;

·       123 William Street, New York, in Conference Room 231; and

·       295 Main Street, Buffalo, in Conference Room 803.

Anyone interested in attending the meeting in-person is encouraged to email Code.development@dos.ny.gov prior to the meeting with the location they plan to attend. Alternatively, the public may attend the live meeting remotely from any location Register here.

2025 03 11 to 13 – 2025 IGSHPA Annual Conference – Breaking New Ground– From the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA): “Join us in Champaign, IL next March for our 2025 Annual Conference in collaboration with the Geothermal Alliance of Illinois!  Don't miss out on early bird pricing (ends January 31, 2025!), and as always, if you are a GAOI or IGSHPA member you get to register at a discount!” The conference agenda is now available on the conference website. Link.

2025 04 22 to 24 – NY-GEO 2025 in Saratoga Springs – Early Bird Pricing is now available! This Upstate event will be our only/sole NY-GEO conference in 2025. For 2026 the NY-GEO conference is planned to be located Downstate – NYC area. The April 2025 NY-GEO events in Saratoga will include Pre-Conference Geothermal Drilling Demonstrations & GSHP Site Tours followed by 2 Days of Conference Education Sessions, co-located with a great Vendor Exhibition Hall. Check the NY-GEO 2025 Saratoga Springs page for information as it becomes available.   

Become a 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 a NY-GEO member and why your membership is important to advancing GHP, Click here.