Bay Ridge Air Rights Co-Gen Plant Will Reduce Electric Costs by $480K and Carbon Footprint by 283 Tons Over 15 Years… With No Capital Outlay
Challenge: FirstService Energy was engaged by Bay Ridge Air Rights, a co-op in Brooklyn with over 800 units in two 28-story buildings, to devise an affordable, environmentally conscientious strategy to reduce energy costs and consumption.
Solution: After conducting an extensive energy analysis of the property and consulting with vendors, a 75kW cogeneration unit was installed in each of the two buildings to work in coordination with their boiler systems. These plants are highly efficient because they economically meet the building’s electricity demands and utilize the heat produced during generation to provide domestic hot water.
Savings: Although Bay Ridge could have recovered its initial investment in less than four years, cash flow constraints and its government-regulated affordable housing status (Mitchell-Lama) limited the funds available to purchase the plant outright. In response, we convinced the manufacturer to assume all installation costs (a savings of approximately $514,000) and ongoing operational expenses and then sell the electricity to the property at a 15% discount from current market rates. We creatively enhanced this discount by negotiating with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to contribute funds to the vendor.