New York Governor Kathy Hochul will soon release a budget that likely will include a plan to make New York the first state to ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in new construction, according to Food & Water Watch and other environmental groups.
Officials at the governor's office said Hochul was working with the legislature to finalize the budget, but could not say when they would reach an agreement.
In her State of the State address in January, Hochul committed to "zero on-site greenhouse gas emissions for new construction no later than 2027."
A decision by the state would follow similar gas bans in New York City in December and dozens of smaller U.S. cities in recent years as they seek to shift from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.
In the near-term, the new laws will do little to reduce New York's carbon emissions, as numerous older buildings will not be affected and new structures would use electricity generated by burning fossil fuels anyway.
Longer-term, however, carbon emissions should drop because the state's Climate Act of 2019 requires all power generation to come from clean sources by 2040, including 70% from renewable energy by 2030.
The gas industry has warned that giving up on gas would boost consumer costs because electric heat is much more expensive.
With the economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, New York's gas use rose to around 3.44 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2021 from about 3.39 bcfd in 2020 when lockdowns depressed demand. That compares with a record high of 3.63 bcfd in 2018, according to federal energy data going back to 1997.
Gas use by New York's residential and commercial consumers slid for a third year in a row in 2021 to around 1.97 bcfd, the lowest since 2016, while consumption increased for industrial customers to 0.24 bcfd and power generators to 1.23 bcfd.
Recommended Reading
Post Oak-backed Quantent Closes Haynesville Deal in North Louisiana
2024-09-09 - Quantent Energy Partners’ initial Haynesville Shale acquisition comes as Post Oak Energy Capital closes an equity commitment for the E&P.
Silver Hill Closes Fourth Oil, Gas Fund with $1.13B in Commitments
2024-07-31 - Silver Hill’s portfolio consists of operations across 55,000 net acres in East Texas and North Louisiana and 86,000 net acres in North Dakota.
Cheniere’s Corpus LNG Stage 3 Project on Track for Year-end Start
2024-08-09 - Cheniere Energy., which boasts 45 mtpa of LNG production capacity, is on schedule for first LNG production from its Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3 project by year-end 2024, the company’s CEO Jack Fusco said during a quarterly earnings webcast.
Analyst: Is Jerry Jones Making a Run to Take Comstock Private?
2024-09-20 - After buying more than 13.4 million Comstock shares in August, analysts wonder if Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might split the tackles and run downhill toward a go-private buyout of the Haynesville Shale gas producer.
Aethon, Murphy Refinance Debt as Fed Slashes Interest Rates
2024-09-20 - The E&Ps expect to issue new notes toward redeeming a combined $1.6 billion of existing debt, while the debt-pricing guide—the Fed funds rate—was cut on Sept. 18 from 5.5% to 5%.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.