Dive Brief:

• The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will fund a pair of industrial and manufacturing efficiency initiatives with $10 million, the agency announced this week, with the expectation the programs will save almost 30% more than that amount each year.
• One program, the On-Site Energy Manager, initiative will provide $7 million in cost-share funding for large and medium-size industrial facilities to demonstrate the benefits of hiring a dedicated, full-time on-site energy manager. 
• A second, not-yet active Strategic Energy Management initiative will provide $3 million to support demonstrations at 20 manufacturing facilities statewide that have high energy usage and costs. 

Dive Insight:

New York's industrial and manufacturing base accounts for 7.4% of the state's total energy usage, an area the state is looking to address through its Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding. NYSERDA funding announced this week is expected to generate $12.9 million in annual benefits while helping the state reach a goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030. The programs focus on the importance of large facilities hiring staff to help manage and reduce energy use.

The agency said its On-Site Energy Manager and Strategic Energy Management initiatives are designed to improve business performance and facility operations while also limiting greenhouse gas emissions.  

The two programs are expected to cut carbon emissions by 1.2 million metric tons over 15 years, the equivalent of taking 16,800 cars off the road. Funding for these initiatives will come with funding coming from New York's 10-year, $5.3 billion Clean Energy Fund.

Earlier this summer the New York ISO announced that despite gains from efficiency and distributed resources, the state would still need new transmission to move towards a lower-carbon future. According to the ISO's Power Trends report, efficiency gains are expected to reduce peak demand on New York's bulk power system by 225 MW in 2016 and by more than 1,800 MW in 2026.

In the first program, a competitive process will be used to tap 30 facilities for NYSERDA support to put a contractor or permanent employee in that role for one year whose job will be to target productivity improvements that drive energy efficiency and reduce energy use on a sustainable, ongoing basis. 

The Strategic Energy Management initiative, which is expected to launch within a few weeks, support continuous improvement demonstrations at 20 manufacturing facilities statewide by providing consultants to teach facility personnel how to reduce energy intensity over time.