What fuels are used to generate NYC’s power supply, and how does this affect heat pump retrofits?
Original publication by Urban Green Council • January 21, 2025
Highlights
- The vast majority of NYC’s power is generated at gas power plants
- Despite this, buildings that invest in heat pump retrofits will still see carbon savings
- And, as clean power replaces gas generation, over time these savings will automatically grow
Fossil fuels dominate the current sources of NYC’s electricity (Figure 1). NYC gets its power supply from both in-city power plants and power plants in Upstate New York and New Jersey. Clean energy supply is limited because building large-scale renewables in NYC is challenging, and existing transmission lines to bring clean energy from elsewhere are maxed out—although this will start to change in 2026.
Cleaning the grid will require dramatic changes to electricity generation, transmission and distribution to NYC buildings, all while maintaining grid reliability.
Figure 1
Will heat pump retrofits lower emissions even with NYC’s fossil-fuel-dominated grid?
Yes, even with NYC’s current fossil-fuel-dominated grid, heat pump retrofits will reduce GHG emissions for most buildings (Figure 2). Therefore, today’s grid mix is no reason to wait to electrify. This is due to the tremendous efficiency of heat pump systems compared to existing fossil fuel equipment, and emission savings for buildings that install heat pumps will automatically grow as NYC’s grid integrates more clean power.[1]To dive deeper into this analysis, refer to pages 21-23 of Urban Green’s Grid Ready report
Figure 2
Grid capacity remains high for more heat pumps
New York State’s current grid can reliably support heat pump installations
Electrification and the grid in NYC’s EJ Areas
How will increased power demand from building electrification impact the grid in NYC’s environmental justice communities?
State of the Grid Brief
Read our snapshot of the New York City electric grid and our evaluation of NYC’s readiness for a clean energy transformation.
References
| ↑1 | To dive deeper into this analysis, refer to pages 21-23 of Urban Green’s Grid Ready report |
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