Tulips and The New York State Capitol, in Albany, New York.
Media Contact:
Katy Zielinski
katy@moxiestrategies.com
(203) 819-2595
Statement in Response to the FY 26 NY State Budget
ALBANY, N.Y. May 9, 2025 – Lisa Dix, New York Director for the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), provided the following statement in response to the FY 2026 State Budget:
“At a time when New Yorkers are looking to State Leadership to advance clean energy solutions, our elected leaders are meeting the moment by investing in shovel-ready projects that will cut pollution and create good-paying union jobs. We applaud the inclusion of $200 million for Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) in the final New York State budget. With years of planning and study behind us, this funding means we can finally move these projects from concept to construction. This transformative step forward represents the largest state investment in TENs in the nation. TENs allow us to scale up decarbonization from individual homes to entire neighborhoods—making upgrades more affordable, efficient, and impactful. These neighborhood-scale projects will modernize and transform communities and SUNY campuses across the state with clean energy, reduce emissions, and create union jobs, including the modernization of Jamestown BPU’s district steam system.
We also applaud the $50 million investment in the EmPower+ program, which will help more New Yorkers—especially low- and moderate-income households—access the benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades.
As we look to the rest of the legislative session, we urge lawmakers to build on this momentum by advancing the NY HEAT Act. These investments are a start—but we need a comprehensive, fully funded plan to lower utility bills, upgrade homes at no cost to homeowners, and ensure no community is left behind. As we move into the second half of the legislative session, we urge lawmakers to take the next steps by passing the NY HEAT Act. These policies are essential to take on skyrocketing utility bills and deliver affordable, clean energy for all New Yorkers.”
###
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