Con Edison has officially launched its Clean Energy Update, providing information on the latest installations on transforming the power grid.
Updated quarterly, the progress report provides updates on the installations of solar panels, battery storage, electric vehicle chargers and other technologies. These reports aim to make it easier to keep track of the deployment of customer-owned clean energy technologies as Con Edison expands and develops its service area, which includes 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County.
“The energy landscape is evolving faster than at any time in our company’s 200-year history, shifting toward cleaner, more decentralized and community-based energy solutions,” said Con Edison Chairman and CEO Tim Cawley. “The energy system of the future will put far more control in the hands of customers. This new era calls for unprecedented transparency and accessibility of information.”
Con Edison has committed as a company to deliver 100% clean energy by 2040, as outlined in its company’s recently expanded Clean Energy Commitment, which will come from a combination of large renewable generators, such as offshore wind turbines, and distributed resources embedded in the local power grid, such as solar panels owned by customers.
Highlights of the recent update include:
- NYC and Westchester customers have lowered their energy bills through the ownership nearly 45,000 rooftop solar systems totaling 419 megawatts of capacity, with Queens leading the way for NYC solar with more than 14,000 systems installed.
- Con Edison customers installed 7,280 solar energy systems totaling more than 70 megawatts of generating capacity in 2021, with these panels expected to generate the equivalent amount of energy as approximately 22,000 New York City homes would consume in a year.
- Electric heat pumps and other clean heat technologies have become popular in the New York City region, helping buildings move away from on-site fossil fuel consumption. Con Edison incentivized more than 9,700 clean heat projects in 2021, a 300 percent jump on the previous year, when the program began. Buildings are NYC’s largest source of carbon emissions.
- Electric vehicle registrations are accelerating, with more than 30,000 EVs now on the road in NYC and Westchester. Con Edison’s PowerReady incentive program has supported installation of 359 EV chargers through March 2022, including 42 DC fast chargers. Through PowerReady, the company aims to support the installation of approximately 19,000 charging plugs by 2025.
The Con Edison Clean Energy Update will complement the NYC Climate Dashboard launched recently by the Office of the NYC Comptroller, which tracks the city’s progress in meeting its climate goals.
“New York City can’t meet the scale of the climate crisis without transparency and accountability. Con Edison’s Clean Energy Update is an exceptional tool to help us track how the use of clean energy technologies is growing in our city, and how it is helping New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Executive Director Kizzy Charles-Guzman. “We can now see that NYC customers are seeing savings on their energy bills thanks to their new solar installations, and that clean heat technologies are being adopted widely in the five boroughs, with 9,000 projects incentivized by Con Ed in just 2021. Decarbonizing our city by 2050 is possible, and this tool shows us that New Yorkers are up for the task.”
“Data and transparency are critical to our City’s ability to address climate change and drive the just transition,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. “Con Edison’s commitment to making clean energy data available to New Yorkers is an encouraging step as we track reduction milestones in our fuel, gas and oil energy consumption. It’s why my office released its NYC Climate Dashboard and how we can work to track our collective progress toward a cleaner, greener city.”
Con Edison is not only aggressively transitioning away from fossil fuels, but also supports New York’s goal of reaching economy-wide net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, which is in line with what scientists say is required to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
“New York’s thriving clean energy economy is creating jobs that pay well, offer great long-term career prospects, and provide a sense of deeper meaning to workers wishing to play a role in the fight against climate change,” Cawley said. “The Con Edison Clean Energy Update will make it easier for our customers and other stakeholders to follow New York City’s path to the clean energy future and learn how to participate in its multitude of benefits.”
