For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Katy Zielinski
Katy@moxiestrategies.com
Statement from the Building Decarbonization Coalition on New York’s Data Center Community Investment Framework Policy
ALBANY, NY, (August 14, 2026) — Michael Hernandez, Senior Manager, New York Policy for the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), provided the following statement alongside its comments co-signed by over forty organizations representing building performance contractors, solar energy advocates, environmental health advocates, solar installers, home energy auditors, religious organizations, trade associations, environmental justice groups, heat pump installers and retailers, ground source heat pump installers, and community based organizations in response to Empire State Development proposed Data Center Community Investment Framework Policy Outline:
“The Community Investment Framework is the perfect opportunity to leverage data center investments and accelerate the decarbonization of communities who choose to host them. Private investors should provide heat pumps, battery storage, and thermal energy networks from their data centers to host communities, accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels and ensuring that the public benefits directly from these structures. We are grateful to Governor Hochul and Empire State Development for taking the time to provide guidance through this framework, and urge them to explicitly include building energy upgrades as eligible investments in the final policy due in mid-September.”
BDC’s comments were also echoed by Assembly Economic Development Chair Al Stirpe in his response comments where he stressed the importance of private sector investment in building decarbonization in order to support and create Clean Energy industry jobs.
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ABOUT THE BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION
The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Learn more at www.buildingdecarb.org.