By David LaGuerre
Six projects at eight hospitals will test energy-saving upgrades. Savings remain projections, not measured results.
New York is awarding nearly $28 million for energy upgrades at eight hospitals, Governor Kathy Hochul announced November 9. The six projects include new heating and cooling equipment, improved controls and systems that recover heat that otherwise would be wasted.
The awards come through the Empire Building Challenge: Hospitals program, run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The state says the projects are intended to help hospitals manage energy costs while testing approaches that other facilities could use.
No Mohawk Valley hospital is listed among these recipients. The immediate investments are in Geneva, Queens, the Bronx and Sleepy Hollow. Their relevance to hospitals elsewhere in New York is as potential examples, not an announced award or promised upgrade for a local facility.
Where the money is going
Geneva General Hospital: Finger Lakes Health will receive more than $3.5 million for a more efficient cooling plant, central building controls, replacement air-handling equipment and a heat-recovery chiller. The state projects annual savings above $230,000 and a reduction of nearly 40,500 million British thermal units in annual energy use.
Katz Women’s Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center: The Queens project will receive nearly $4.3 million. Work includes heat recovery, a change from steam distribution to lower-temperature hot water, and ventilation balancing. Projected annual savings are nearly $386,000, with an energy reduction of nearly 31,000 million British thermal units.
Three Montefiore hospitals: Wakefield Hospital, Jack D. Weiler Hospital and Westchester Square in the Bronx will share nearly $4.9 million for heat-recovery heat pumps. Across the three facilities, the state projects more than $14,000 in annual cost savings and an energy-use reduction of nearly 25,000 million British thermal units.
Phelps Memorial Hospital: Northwell Health’s Sleepy Hollow facility will receive more than $5 million for a heat-recovery chiller, heat pumps, thermal storage and a change from steam to lower-temperature hot water. Projected annual cost savings are nearly $50,000, with an energy-use reduction of nearly 30,000 million British thermal units.
Elmhurst Hospital Center: The NYC Health + Hospitals facility in Queens will receive more than $5 million for heat-pump chillers, upgraded controls and a central building-management system. The state projects nearly $947,000 in annual savings and an energy-use reduction above 33,700 million British thermal units.
St. Barnabas Hospital: The SBH Health System facility in the Bronx will receive more than $5 million to replace its steam chiller plant with an electric one. Projected annual cost savings exceed $561,000, with an energy reduction of nearly 53,300 million British thermal units.
What the projections mean
The state expects the combined projects to cut annual energy use by more than 213,000 million British thermal units and carbon emissions by more than 11,000 tons. Those are forecasts. The announcement does not establish that the work is complete or that the savings have already been achieved.
Six of the eight hospitals are in areas the state identifies as disadvantaged communities: the three Montefiore facilities, Geneva General, St. Barnabas and Elmhurst. The program seeks to demonstrate practical ways to improve large hospital buildings while overcoming cost barriers.
The list also shows why energy savings and dollar savings should not be treated as interchangeable. The projected financial savings vary widely between projects. This announcement does not provide a full project-by-project operating-cost analysis or guarantee future utility prices.
How the program is funded
The awards are supported by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the state’s Clean Energy Fund. The hospital program extends the broader Empire Building Challenge, which focuses on upgrades to existing large buildings.
The governor’s office says the goal is to produce approaches that can be repeated across the state. For Mohawk Valley readers, the next useful evidence will be completed work and measured performance, rather than treating the announced projections as proven benefits.
Sources and further information
Read the November 9 award announcement, which supplies the figures in this report. NYSERDA provides a program overview and awardee information. No local award or construction completion date is asserted here.