Customer & Community
Renewable Energy and our Facilities
Con Edison’s Clean Energy Commitment aims to provide 100% clean power for the buildings it occupies by 2030. These facilities equate to approximately three million square feet of office space and work locations. In anticipation of 2030, we’re implementing clean energy solutions at both existing facilities and new construction projects. At the end of 2021, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY) released a RFP to solicit recommendations from architectural, engineering, and energy consulting services for the best course of action to achieve our 100% clean power goal at all Company-owned facilities.
Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Our Facilities
CECONY is pursuing Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for a variety of real estate projects. We are in the process of finalizing our LEED certification in Building Design and Construction for one of our data centers. LEED certification is a rare designation for data centers, and ours will be one of approximately 20 LEED-certified data centers in the U.S. and 70 LEED-certified data centers globally. The servers at the data center were replaced with new, energy-efficient servers. Modular air-cooled chillers were installed to cool the servers. Modular air-cooled chillers do not require the large amount of water consumed by an evaporative cooling tower and water-cooled chiller system, providing a sustainable solution for the often water-intensive process of cooling servers. These chillers can decrease and vary their power consumption to match the heat load of the building and provide greater system reliability. The installation of these chillers resulted in over 40% water use reduction. The data center boasts 100% LED interior and exterior lighting. Other environmental design improvements include the addition of bike racks and a solar-reflective roof covering.
We are actively pursuing LEED certifications for two other projects. The renovation of our former Van Nest Cable Lab will be evaluated for sustainability and energy efficiency under the LEED Interior Design and Construction (Commercial Interiors) framework. The former cable lab will become an office space for employees in the Bronx. The project will prioritize the use of locally-sourced materials, interiors will be furnished with recycled carpeting and furniture to the extent feasible, and an all-electric HVAC system will be installed. LED lighting and low-flow water fixtures are also key features of this renovation.
We are currently designing the new Sherman Creek Service Center with the goal of achieving at minimum LEED Gold certification for new office construction. This new service center will include both a green roof and a solar canopy that will help power the facility. The station will also have an all-electric variable refrigerant flow HVAC system in lieu of a gas-fired system.
Powering our Headquarters with Solar
As a strong proponent of solar power, Con Edison installed its own photovoltaic electric generation system at the CECONY headquarters in 2014. The photovoltaic array was installed on the roof of the 19th Floor. A major design goal of the project was to integrate the largest possible PV system given the limited space available. Today, the system consists of 209 solar panels, which accumulate to a total 53.295kW DC nameplate capacity. This PV electric generation system helps power our headquarters building, reducing our own facility’s carbon footprint.