New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Energy Performance Contracts
U.S. Department of Energy
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the nation’s largest residential landlord, with a public housing portfolio that serves 400,000 of New York City’s lowest-income households who have few or no housing alternatives.
In its 2016 NextGeneration NYCHA Sustainability Agenda, NYCHA set goals to reduce per-square-foot energy consumption by 20 percent by 2025, and reduce its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2027. These goals reflect NYCHA’s commitments for the Better Buildings Challenge and the NYC Carbon Challenge, respectively. Meeting these goals across more than 176,000 apartments in 2,600 mid-20th Century buildings will require both operational improvements and a substantial investment in capital upgrades.
NYCHA decided to employ multiple large-scale Energy Performance Contracts (EPC) through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to kick-start investment in energy efficiency and carbon reduction while developing a long-term strategy for energy-smart capital investments. These EPCs feature a non-traditional scope of work focused on eliminating overheating in as many master-planned developments as possible.
As of October 2017, three EPCs serving 57 developments with a combined value of $167 million had been approved by HUD. Each EPC has specific performance metrics tied to annual measurement and verification for the validation of subsidy payments.
View the full case study, including details on financing and outcomes, on the Better Buildings Challenge website.
