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Published February 7, 2023
Last year, we published a major research report, Grid Ready, which found that converting building heating and hot water systems from fossil fuels to electric heat pumps does not pose any near-term risk to New York City’s electric grid.
Our research and policy team recently expanded this analysis to explore how increasing power demand from building electrification impacts the grid in environmental justice communities. This new analysis, “Exploring Equitable Electrification,” found that the 15 NYC grid areas that may see the fastest electrification of heat and hot water systems and the earliest grid constraints are primarily Environmental Justice Areas. Therefore, it’s essential that building electrification policies and programs are designed to ensure an equitable transition—one that secures the benefits and mitigates potential challenges of building electrification.
On this episode of Building Tomorrow, hear from our research and policy team as they unpack the dynamics behind this new research!
Chris Halfnight
Chief Executive Officer
Chris is the CEO of Urban Green Council, where he leads the organization’s work to advance energy efficiency and building decarbonization in New York City, New York State and beyond. Before becoming CEO, he spent a decade at Urban Green, most recently as Senior Director of Research and Policy, directing data analysis, clean tech research, policy development, and advocacy at the city and state levels. Chris has served on many advisory bodies, including as a mayoral appointee to NYC’s 26-member Sustainability Advisory Board and Mayor Mamdani’s transition committee on climate. Earlier in his career, he practiced law at Shearman & Sterling LLP and worked on clean energy policy at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. He holds a B.A. and J.D. from McGill University and a Master of Environmental Management, with a specialization in energy systems, from the Yale School of the Environment.
Danielle Manley
Associate Director, Policy
Danielle is responsible for advocacy, analysis and collaboration on Urban Green’s policy initiatives in New York City and State. She previously worked at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University’s Earth Institute researching and communicating local climate risk information for stakeholders in global cities and ecosystems, and served as project manager for the Third New York City Panel on Climate Change Report. Danielle also worked for nonprofits in Buffalo on environmental education and advocacy. She holds a Master’s Degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University at Buffalo.
Adam Schiabor
Associate Director, Research
Adam is responsible for conducting data analysis and research into sustainability topics. Prior to Urban Green, Adam worked at a non-profit healthcare company that was dedicated to using the Affordable Care Act to expand access to services and lower the cost of healthcare in New Mexico. Adam hold a B.S in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Oregon and a M.A in Economics from the New School for Social Research.
Exploring equitable electrification
Urban Green's Chris Halfnight, Danielle Manley and Adam Schiabor sat down to discuss our latest analysis on equitable electrification in NYC.
Prioritizing environmental justice as we electrify
Sonal Jessel, Director of Policy at WE ACT, joins Zakiyah Sayyed and Anushka Maqbool to discuss how electrification must benefit historically disadvantaged communities.
Grid Ready: Powering NYC’s All-Electric Buildings
Grid Ready looks at how power is delivered to NYC and how heat pumps will change electricity demand.