Construction Injury Newsroom

Mayor Bloomberg Announces New Rule to Make On-Site Power Generation Technology Available to Residential and Commercial Building Owners

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced a new rule setting the country's first standard for the safe use and installation of microturbine systems in residential and commercial buildings. Microturbines are highly efficient turbine generators that recover and reuse the wasted heat of their own combustion process, after producing electricity and heat for a building, to provide energy for other building operations. By reusing heat that would otherwise be exhausted into the atmosphere, microturbines greatly increase the usable energy produced by fossil fuels, reduce carbon emissions, and provide building owners opportunities for operational cost savings. The new rule was published in today's City Record and takes effect immediately.

"I want to thank the Cogeneration Task Force, lead by Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, for the serious attention they've given this issue and for coming up with a rule that will allow for the use of microturbines in buildings here in New York and to ensure that they are safely and properly installed," said Mayor Bloomberg. "This rule will help us to meet our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide by 30% between now and 2030, and it will help spur the real estate and development communities to build more efficient, greener projects moving forward."

Buildings in New York City generate 79% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions. By supplying on-site power generation to buildings, microturbine systems provide an energy-efficient supplement to power plants, New York City's conventional power supply. Estimates show, for a given amount of fossil fuel, microturbines generate 70 to 80 percent of its usable energy, whereas only 30 to 35% of the energy produced by power plants is usable.

"Microturbines allow buildings to generate a portion of their own electricity in a clean and efficient manner. Owners who take advantage of microturbine technology will help distribute clean power generation throughout the five boroughs, which will in part address the clean energy needs of New York's dense urban community," said Buildings Commissioner Lancaster. "Through our public-private partnership formed under the Cogeneration Task Force, we have set a standard for the safe use and installation of micrortubine systems where no standard existed before. We look forward to continuing our partnership to develop safe regulations for next-generation technology that will make New York City more sustainable."