Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion state budget proposal includes details on the much talked-about push away from natural gas.
The proposed bill stays away from singling out appliances such as stoves, but does call for eventually prohibiting the installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment, including home heating systems that use natural gas. It also bans any supply, distribution, or delivery of fossil-fuel for any purpose to new buildings.
Notable exceptions include restaurants and gas-powered backup generators.
For all the buzz, what does the Governor actually propose? Here are excerpts from the budget:
From the brief "Budget Highlights":
The Executive Budget also includes nation-leading building decarbonization proposals that will prohibit fossil fuel equipment and building systems in new construction, phase out the sale and installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment in existing buildings, and establish building benchmarking and energy grades. The new construction proposal includes certain exemptions such as commercial kitchens. The existing equipment phase out proposal does not impact stoves.
From the 160-page budget book:
Making New York Buildings More Sustainable.
Reducing emissions in the building sector by prohibiting fossil fuel equipment and building systems in new construction, phasing out the sale and installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment in existing buildings, and establishing building benchmarking and energy grades.
From the budget itself:
The code shall prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems, in any new one-family residential building of any height or new multi-family residential building not more than three stories in height on or after Dec. 31, 2025, and the code shall prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems, in any new commercial building on or after Dec. 31, 2028.
The code shall prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel heating equipment and building systems at any time on or after Jan. 1, 2030 in any one-family residential building of any height or multi-family residential building not more than three stories in height existing on or after such date, and the code shall prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel heating equipment and building systems at any time on or after Jan. 1, 2035 in any commercial building existing on or after that date.
Shall include exemptions for the purposes of allowing installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems in a building for generation of emergency back-up power or part of a building that is used as a manufacturing facility, commercial food establishment, laboratory, laundromat, hospital, other medical facility, critical infrastructure such as backup power for wastewater treatment facilities, or crematorium.
Shall not be construed as prohibiting the continued use and maintenance of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems, including as related to cooking equipment, installed prior to the effective date of the applicable prohibition.
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