Int 0694-2011

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this local law, the following terms shall mean: a. “Energy” shall mean work or heat that is, or may be, produced from any fuel or source, including, but not limited to, electrical, fossil, geothermal, wind, hydro, solid waste, tidal, solar and nuclear. b. “Geothermal energy” shall mean the stored thermal energy of the Earth that is recovered to heat or cool buildings, or generate electricity. c. “Geothermal ground coupling” shall mean the arrangement of piping and fluid handling equipment designed to exchange the stored thermal energy of the Earth with a building. d. “Geothermal system” shall mean a type of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system used to exchange the stored thermal energy of the Earth with a building, to provide space heating and cooling, and hot water through the use of geothermal ground coupling and mechanical heat exchange devices such as heat pumps, modular reversible chillers, or other heat exchangers. § 2. Geothermal energy study and recommendations. As provided in section three of this local law, the office of long-term planning and sustainability shall submit a study to the mayor and the speaker of the council to explore the feasibility of developing geothermal energy resources in the city, which shall include, but need not be limited to: a. a map that visually identifies or estimates areas of the city that may be appropriate for geothermal energy exchange with the Earth based on subsurface geologic conditions and the type or types of geothermal system that would be appropriate for each such area, and that can be used to determine whether a building may be within any such area; b. a summary of building characteristics that would be suitable for a retrofit installation of a geothermal system; c. an analysis of the viability of developing large district or campus-scale geothermal ground couplings to serve clusters of buildings; d. a summary of the applicable federal, state, and city laws, rules, regulations, filing requirements, and fees for the installation and operation of geothermal systems; e. a summary of the specific practical and legal impediments, if any, to the installation and operation of geothermal systems; f. a summary of existing technical standards and/or guidelines for geothermal system installations in the city of New York; and g. recommendations to promote the installation and use of geothermal systems in new construction, alterations, and retrofits of buildings. § 3. The study required by section two of this local law shall be submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the council on or before June 1, 2014. The statistical or factual information compiled by the city and utilized in such study shall be made available to the public on the city’s open data web portal at the time the study is submitted. § 4. This local law shall take effect immediately. LS # 1755 SS 4/1/2013 6:04pm