Just In! for February 15, 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.

Senator Ryan Sponsors Geothermal Tax Credit Bill – On Thursday (2025 02 13) NY Senator Sean Ryan introduced S2884, a bill that raises the cap on NY’s geothermal tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000 and makes it refundable for low and moderate income (LMI) New Yorkers and those in defined Disadvantaged Communities. This bill was part of the Senate’s One-House budget bill last year under the sponsorship of Senator Tim Kennedy, who is now a Congressmember, but wasn’t included in the final adopted budget. Senator Ryan had sponsored the original geo tax credit bill when he was an Assemblymember, and Assemblymember Jon Rivera has sponsored the cap increase bill (A1591) in the Assembly. Stakeholders who favor the bill are urged to sign up for email alerts with billnowa@gmail.com. Link to the bill. 

Governor Announces Campus Geothermal Projects: - “Governor Kathy Hochul today (2025 02 12) announced $150 million in climate resiliency grants to make New York State’s public college campuses greener, more resilient to severe weather and more energy efficient.” The grants are funded through the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, and are proposed to include thermal energy networks at the Buffalo and Binghampton SUNY campuses, a geoexchange network at SUNY Oswego and geothermal heating and cooling at Brooklyn College’s West End Building. Link.

Geothermal Heat Pumps Are Crazy Efficient. Should You Get One? Alison F. Takemura – Canary Media – “The appliances are more expensive and less common than air-source heat pumps. But big incentives and superb efficiency can make up for the price tag. The DOE sees ample room for geothermal heat pumps to take off… With the right policies and investments, annual adoption of the tech could double, with the equivalent of 7 million more American homes installing geothermal heat pumps by 2035.” Thanks to Allison McMunn at the National Building Electrification Network for this tip. Link.

Green Lawmakers Pressure Hochul to Speed up Action on Climate Act – Samantha Maldonado – The City – “Delays in moving forward with New York State’s sweeping climate action law are stirring up concerns among its supporters that Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking to avoid a perceived political price — with echoes of the ongoing battle over congestion pricing. As part of her State of the State agenda last month, Hochul said state agencies have until the end of 2025 to propose just one element of required regulations. That misses the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s deadline by nearly two years and with no sign of when the rest might follow.” Link.

Mayors Across US Urge Congress Not to Repeal Clean Energy Tax Credits - Wyatt Myskow - "The Inflation Reduction Act incentives for developing clean energy have created thousands of jobs in local communities across the country… A letter signed by mayors and local leaders across 39 states is calling on Congress to protect all clean energy tax credits made available to state and local governments, which had been responsible for creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments before President Donald Trump froze the funds." Link.

Interviews from the February 4^th NY HEAT Lobby Day – Mark Dunlea – Hudson Mohawk Magazine - “On Tuesday February 4, several hundred climate activists were at the State Capitol to promote the Renewable Heat Now Campaign. The main push was to finally pass the NY Heat Act. The Act, which has passed the NYS Senate, would stop subsidies for gas expansion (e.g., the 100 foot rule); would align state agency actions (e.g., PSC) with the state's climate law (CLCPA); and would cap utility bills for low income households at 6%.... We hear about the campaign and other critical climate issues from Jeanne Bergman with SANE Energy; Adam Flint, Director of Clean Energy Programs at Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow; Albany resident Fred Pfieffer; Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch; Betta Broad of New Yorkers for Clean Power; Lena Goings of Fridays for Future NYC; and David Alexis of New York Communities for Change.” Link to the audio recording.

All About Home Electric Panels – NYSERDA – “Planning home energy upgrades? Here’s what homeowners need to know about their electric panel, including replacement considerations and available funding.” Link.

Baltimore City Council Resolution Opposes Gas Rate Increases and Spending on Gas Lines – Charles Swick – Baltimore Sun – “Speaking at a City Hall news conference Monday morning, (Baltimore City Council President Zeke) Cohen said he will introduce legislation at Monday evening’s City Council meeting to hold BGE accountable. He also expressed the council’s support for the Ratepayer Protection Act, a state bill to require gas companies to prioritize lowering spending on new pipelines by identifying and addressing leaks.” Thanks to Energy Central News for this tip. Link.

Baltimore Council President Zeke Cohen

Colorado and Connecticut Lowered Utility Bills by Reining in Lobbying - Aklelly Hu – Grist – “In 2023, Colorado, Connecticut, and Maine passed the first comprehensive laws to prevent utilities from charging customers for lobbying, advertising, and other political influence activities. Customers in those states have already saved hundreds of thousands of dollars after regulators began enforcing the laws last year…Last year, eight states introduced bills to rein in utility cost recovery. Last month, five more states followed suit…”  NY’s bill is S7637 (Brouk)/A7880 (Solages). Link to article.

New York Mayoral Candidates All Strut Their Green Credentials – Lauren Dalban – Inside Climate News – “They want more renewable energy, composting and park spending, and fewer gas power plants, pipelines and carbon emissions… All candidates pledged to get rid of ‘loopholes’ in Local Law 97, the city law mandating emissions reductions in city buildings.” Link.

Where Did Billions in Climate and Infrastructure Funding Go? – Audoris AI - Grist - “…lawmakers had announced nearly $700 billion in funding for infrastructure- and climate-related projects under two bills passed during Joe Biden’s administration — the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law. That money was promised to all sorts of community and local projects, from clean energy initiatives to water system upgrades…. Grist developed a tool that combines information across multiple datasets to reveal where more than $300 billion of the funds promised under the two pieces of legislation have been awarded across the United States. Enter a ZIP code, city name, or other location... to discover projects within any radius of your chosen area.” Link.

At Least 4 Killed in Suspected Gas Explosion at Taiwan Shopping Mall – Jenny Gross and Jonathan Wolfe – NY Times – “At least four people were killed and 30 others injured in a suspected gas explosion in the food court of a Taiwan shopping mall on Thursday morning, according to Taiwan’s state-owned news outlet. The explosion occurred in the city of Taichung, about 100 miles southwest of Taipei, Taiwan’s capital.” Link.

New Energy Secretary Criticizes Germany’s Energy Transition, Misses All the Nuance – Dan Gearino – Inside Climate News – “Chris Wright spent part of his introductory speech criticizing German policies and championing natural gas. Experts in and out of the country say he oversimplified a complex process…Germany has gone from heavy reliance on fossil fuels such as coal to getting 58 percent of its electricity from renewable sources last year, which is more than double the share in the United States. But its successes have been undercut at times by higher energy bills for households.” Link.

Climate Protest at PSC Meeting over NY Heat, Iroquois Pipeline – Hudson Mohawk Magazine on Soundcloud - “On Thursday, February 13, climate activists disrupted the monthly meeting of the Public Service Commissioners in Albany. The immediate focus of the protest was the decision last Friday to approve the expansion of the Iroquois pipeline which builds out the fossil fuel infrastructure and will deliver more gas. The Hochul administration, while acknowledging that the expansion conflicts with the mandates of the state’s climate law, argues that it is needed to ensure delivery of services in NYC especially in cold months. The protest also highlighted the need for the state to finally enact the NY Heat Act to ensure that all state agencies, starting with the PSC, comply with the state’s climate law.” Link.

Executive Order Leads to $100 Energy Bill Hike for Hundreds In Alabama – Judd Legum - Popular Information - “Donald Trump promised that, as president, he would drastically lower Americans' energy bills. ‘[W]e're going to make it a much -- a much different place,’ Trump said during a November 14 speech at Mar-a-Lago. ‘We're going to slash energy costs. We're going to get your energy bills in half.’ But …about 250 customers of Huntsville Utilities, the public utility company in Huntsville, Alabama, received a letter informing them that their account ‘has been debited $100.’ The surcharge occurred because one of Trump's executive orders froze a grant that assists low-income residents with their energy bills.” Link.

NY-GEO Conference Highlights

Building the Geothermal Driller Workforce to Meet IRA Prevailing Wage with Apprenticeship Requirements

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

To achieve the largest multipliers for IRA tax incentives, large geothermal heat pump projects (thermal capacity over 1 MW), must pay prevailing wage and meet specific registered apprenticeship requirements. This panel discussed what steps are being taken to develop the geothermal drilling workforce to scale up the most efficient means of building electrification through GHP systems and Thermal Energy Networks.

Moderator:

• Andrew Iliff / HEET

Panel:

• Emily Engman / Eide Bailly LLP
• Brock Yordy / Geothermal Drillers Association
• Gregg Strede / IUOE Local 478
• Ryan Dougherty / GeoExchange

Session YouTube Recording

Presentation Deck

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

95% of Countries Miss UN Deadline to Submit 2035 Climate Pledges – Daisey Dunn – Carbon Brief - “Just 10 of the 195 parties signed up to the landmark Paris Agreement have published their new emissions-cutting plans, known as ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs), by the 10 February deadline. Countries missing the deadline represent 83% of global emissions and nearly 80% of the world’s economy, according to Carbon Brief analysis. In a 6 February speech, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the ‘vast majority of countries have indicated that they [will] submit new plans this year’ and ‘taking a bit more time to ensure these plans are first-rate makes sense’. Only two of the group of seven (G7) nations – the US and the UK – have come forward with new climate plans.” Link.

Super Bowl Climate Ad from Science Moms – “Football fans in Los Angeles watching the Super Bowl may have seen an ad warning about the growing climate crisis. The regional spot was made by Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists who are also mothers. The ‘By the Time’ ad shows a montage of young girls growing into adults, and warns that climate change is rapidly altering the world today’s children will inherit. ‘Our window to act on climate change is like watching them grow up,’ the voiceover says. ‘We blink, and we miss it.’ ” Thanks to HEATMAP AM for this tip. 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 19 – Electrify Now Explores Geothermal Heat Pumps – 3:00 pm ET - NY-GEO board member John Ciovacco, President of Aztech Geothermal, and Nick Cabianca of Geonomic (Oregon-based) 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. The program already has hundreds of registrations and will provide geothermal technology basics, focused on small residential installations from a national perspective.” 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.