A challenging energy experiment is about to get started in Ithaca, N.Y., whose council this month voted to “decarbonize” all 6,000 buildings in the town by the end of the decade.
That means changing the way the buildings are heated in winter, and changing the appliances used in many homes, with the goal of avoiding the use of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. To manage this initiative, Ithaca has hired a New York City company that has made similar changes to 1,100 apartments in the past two years.
This is the way of the future, so it will be interesting to see how things go in Ithaca, a town of 30,000 people that is home to Cornell University, an Ivy League school. And a story in The Washington Post about Ithaca’s plans noted that energy generated for buildings account for nearly 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. And here we all were blaming global warming on cars and factories.
The work will start on 1,600 buildings in Ithaca. Various estimates say that will take between three and five years. The second phase will involve the city’s remaining 4,400 buildings and is expected to last through 2030.
The big questions, of course, are what will this cost? Who’s going to pay for it? And a third one would be, what if a homeowner or building owner doesn’t want to switch to carbon-free energy? Finally, what do the local utilities say?
Ithaca officials estimate the project will cost $550 million. Which is nearly seven times the town’s annual budget. Which amounts to nearly $92,000 per building in the town. Which explains why some skeptics think a Green New Deal idea like this is unaffordable on a national scale. If $550 million is the cost for a town of 30,000 people, imagine what it would be for a nation of 330 million.
The town has already raised the $100 million it needs for the first phase of work. The plan is to pay for it with private equity investment and reduce costs through state and federal incentives, along with manufacturer rebates. Ithaca also will seek donations to reduce the cost of transition for low-income residents.
To generate the replacement energy, Ithaca’s director of sustainability says the town needs to double its existing rooftop solar panels. He also wants to start a program to buy used electric vehicles to assist low-income residents.
At first glance, this does sound a little dreamy. But private equity investors would not put up money unless there was a strong possibility of an above-average return on investment. That alone indicates residents will pay at least some of the transition cost, no matter how many tax breaks, incentives and rebates come along.
Instead of dismissing all this out of hand, other cities and states ought to watch Ithaca. Is the $550 million estimate accurate? How much will utility bills or other costs rise? Will alternative energy sources be able to keep up with demand?
There are plenty of potential problems. But we also should remember that Americans usually are pretty good at figuring things out.
— Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
