The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

February 20th, 2025

Dear Governor Hochul,

UpgradeNY is a collaboration of unions, climate justice advocates, building industry representatives and environmental groups calling for New York to decarbonize State-owned campuses and facilities through a local, union-led workforce. We write to ask you to support investing in thermal energy networks as part of the 2025-26 budget.

New York’s approach to decarbonizing our buildings should be centered around family sustaining union jobs, equitable access to clean energy, and scalable solutions. Thermal Energy Networks (TENS) are an essential piece of such a solution that should be used across New York State. These emissions-free infrastructure projects connect multiple buildings using an underground network of water-filled pipes and can scale up to serve entire neighborhoods and multi-building campuses. By moving clean energy into and out of buildings and utilizing thermal energy found in the local natural and built environment, thermal energy networks enable energy-efficient renewable heating and cooling.

Your Executive Budget has proposed $1 billion to support investments in climate mitigation projects, including thermal energy networks. This investment will help the state reduce emissions, and build resilient, energy-efficient infrastructure. To maximize the impact of these investments, we urge that the budget allocate $200 million this year to advance thermal energy networks at SUNY campuses and in communities across the state. These projects will create family-sustaining union jobs and serve as flagship models for decarbonized campuses and communities.

The investment of $200 million in FY 2025-2026 should include:

● $50 million for a thermal energy network at SUNY Purchase. This would allow SUNY Purchase to engineer and construct an emissions-free heating and cooling thermal network for their campus.

● $68 million for a thermal energy network at the University at Buffalo. Building on funds recently announced from the Bond Act, this would allow the University at Buffalo to begin construction of an emissions-free heating and cooling network on the South campus as outlined in their Clean Energy Master Plan, and to begin work on a thermal energy network for the North campus.

● $19 million for Jamestown’s Board of Public Utilities to support the re-design and engineering of its district heating system utilizing waste water heat exchange to create a thermal loop.

● $3 million for SUNY Headquarters for the installation of heat pumps and a wellfield to replace the heating and cooling coils in the building.

● $5 million for University at Stonybrook to increase the utilization of geothermal energy on campus libraries.

● $55 million for the University at Albany Downtown campus to construct a central plant and geothermal wellfield.

Funding thermal energy networks at these campuses would advance implementation of the Clean Energy Master Plans as directed in the 2023 budget for each campus while laying the framework for a decarbonized SUNY system. Purchase College would be able to reduce over 65% of its greenhouse gas emissions if a thermal energy network were developed to provide clean heating and cooling for the campus. At the University of Buffalo’s South Campus, a thermal energy network would provide a 30% reduction in energy usage while providing heating within the existing electrical capacity of the campus’s electrical service. All of these projects would provide increased resiliency, comfort, and energy efficiency for the campus community.

Incorporating an allocation of $19 million in the budget to support engineering for a neighborhood scale thermal energy network in Jamestown by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities would serve as a model for how to decarbonize a municipally-run steam system. This system currently supplies over 700 low income/assisted living apartments.

By funding these projects, and utilizing project labor agreements, you will be sending a signal that the highly trained and competent workforces represented by unions across New York will be included as part of our state's climate agenda. It is critical that labor unions and the millions of workers they represent be part of New York’s decarbonization projects and programs. It also represents an opportunity to include disadvantaged communities in the clean energy transition. Local hiring requirements associated with each project would go to residents of these communities, which would include jobs, recruitment into unions’ direct entry programs, pre-apprenticeship program grants, stipends and wrap-around services. These signature projects align with New York's climate goals while paving the way for community scale thermal energy networks in surrounding neighborhoods.

We look forward to working with you to meet the State’s long-term climate goals. By delivering on these investments we can build the clean energy workforce equitably and at the scale necessary to upgrade New York.

Respectfully,
New York League of Conservation Voters
Building Decarbonization Coalition
New York State Building and Construction Trades Council
New York State Pipe Trades Association
New York State AFL-CIO
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
Alliance for a Green Economy
WeAct for Environmental Justice
ALIGN NY