By Phil Roberts for Next City.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for New York News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

BlocPower, a clean technology start-up, is greening buildings in New York City and beyond. About 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings. And when buildings use oil or natural gas as a heating fuel, they also produce smoke that can cause or worsen asthma and other health problems.

In New York City alone, more than 10,000 multifamily buildings still use boilers that run on fuel oil or natural gas, and buildings that primarily serve low-income tenants are least positioned to pay for the expensive upgrades that would eliminate these emissions.

Enter BlocPower, a Black-owned, cleantech startup that works with these buildings to turn them green, swapping oil or gas for heat pumps. The startup helps buildings transition away from fossil-fuel-powered boilers and toward electric heat pumps, without paying large sums of money upfront. BlocPower - and its investors - are repaid from the savings on buildings' utility bills. In New York City, BlocPower has made it work for over 1,000 buildings, with 24 ongoing projects in other U.S. cities.

"Two of the barriers that we break down are customer acquisition costs and the lack of capital by building owners," explains Keith Kinch, General Manager and co-Founder at BlocPower. Building owners complete a survey on the BlocPower website and get an analysis of their building's energy savings potential. But many building owners don't have capital to finance these projects on their own, so BlocPower provides a no money down lease option. Building owners get a new heating or cooling system and save up to 70 percent on their energy bills. Kinch explains the importance of overcoming those two barriers with the company's unofficial motto: "We are turning buildings into Teslas!"

Once the heat pumps are installed, BlocPower uses the leasing revenue to cover all maintenance and repairs for 15 years. A proprietary software determines which buildings would benefit most from such a retrofit, and after installation, monitors, analyzes, and manages the heat pumps on every project to ensure optimal performance. BlocPower's revenues come from the installation profits, financing fees, and the enterprise contracts.

Heat pump technology - which is essentially an air conditioner (or a reverse air conditioner when used to heat a space) is not without its criticisms, depending on the existing energy source of a geographic location. Since heat pumps use electricity, if a home's electricity source comes from a coal-burning power plant, critics say that a heat pump simply moves emissions from one place to another. BlocPower still believes that heat pumps are important because they provide heat in the winter, cool air in the summer, and they run on electricity.

The scale of what BlocPower has done would not be possible without the NY Green Bank, a state-sponsored entity dedicated to helping finance investments in clean energy, which loaned the company $5 million. "They provide capital that traditional banks do not provide. They've done tremendous work in allowing us to complete projects," says Kinch.

It also helps that the company managed to partner with Goldman Sachs, which loaned them $50 million. It is hard to believe there was a time when BlocPower was not on Wall Street's radar, but those days are a mere memory now. When asked what changed, Kinch describes the simple way they got the attention of major investors.

"We had to prove that we're a viable company and have a record of accomplishments. We have both now," Kinch declares. "When we talk about the work it's not what we might do. We've done this work and we plan to do more. From Wall Street's end, I think there's more of an interest in investing in clean energy projects, because it's a market that will grow."

In a November 2020 interview, BlocPower founder and CEO Donnel Baird said that he sees a new asset class developing around national clean energy technology projects for investment banks and pension funds, independent of the fluctuations of the stock market. He believes that with the reduction in costs of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, solar energy, and smart heating technologies, this new asset class will become a long-term investment strategy, similar to a bond. (BlocPower did not make Baird available for an interview with Next City.)

BlocPower has done projects for nonprofit organizations, churches, and small commercial properties, but residential is where Kinch says the company looks at the most. "Owners of multi-family buildings in dense urban areas have the most to lose, because they've been underserved for years and don't have the capital."

For Kinch, the more money they receive, the more they can take their community level solution national. "It (the VC money) gave us more capital to finance projects across New York state. It allows us to expand the company by hiring the right people and build out our software tools so we can expand to other states like Pennsylvania and California."

Phil Roberts wrote this article for Next City.


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Conservationists in Maine said reinstated protections of the Endangered Species Act could help wildlife already struggling to adapt to climate change.

Economic impacts will no longer be considered when listing certain species as threatened or endangered but the threat of climate change will be a factor.

Anya Fetcher, federal policy advocate for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said so-called "blanket rule" protections will also be revived.

"This is basically, while they are considering whether they should become endangered, they're going to continue to protect those species as if they were," Fetcher explained.

The Trump administration removed protections for threatened species along with other key aspects of the law. Fetcher acknowledged the new rules are likely to be challenged by Congress similar to other climate and environmental regulations.

Conservation powers will also be extended to federally recognized tribes, allowing them the same opportunities to protect wildlife, including some of Maine's most iconic species such as the piping plover and Canada lynx, which are losing critical habitat to development and a changing climate.

Fetcher pointed out one-third of Maine's species are vulnerable to climate change, including more than half the state's birds.

"Our wildlife is part of what makes Maine so special," Fetcher asserted. "Protecting critical habitat and the incredible wildlife that we have here is vital to our economy as well."

Fetcher added the Endangered Species Act has been helpful in protecting species such as the bald eagle, once on the brink of extinction but now a common sight in Maine. Nearly 500,000 public comments were considered in the new rule-making process.


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PacifiCorp's updated energy roadmap throws a lifeline to Wyoming's coal industry but critics said the new Integrated Resource Plan is a major setback for community health and the climate.

Rob Joyce, director of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the plan would add 100 million metric tons of climate pollution by 2042. It also slashes near-term investments in cheaper wind and solar, and makes a huge bet on behalf of ratepayers to install unproven and expensive carbon capture devices on existing coal-fired power plants.

"To be increasing emissions, increasing investment in fossil fuels, and putting hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars towards carbon capture when we're not 100 % sure if that is actually even going to work is really dubious," Joyce argued.

PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, plans to extend the life of the Jim Bridger coal-fired power plant in southwestern Wyoming until 2039. The plan also pushes back the retirements of Utah's Hunter plant by at least 10 years, and the Huntington plant by at least four years. PacifiCorp said it should deliver significant near-term cost savings to ratepayers.

The plan also added more natural gas to PacifiCorp's energy portfolio. Joyce worries Wyoming ratepayers, already tapped by state lawmakers to pay millions for a carbon capture compliance surcharge, will end up on the hook.

"We're going to have to cover the costs of the volatility of new gas resources," Joyce pointed out. "The company is saying between $500 million and $1 billion per unit that they put carbon capture on. Those are all things that they pass on to the ratepayers."

Joyce noted with a looming 2030 deadline to significantly reduce fossil fuel pollution in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, now is the time to invest big in wind and solar. He added by delaying the expansion of clean energy resources, PacifiCorp is leaving billions of dollars in Inflation Reduction Act incentives on the table.

"Right now we know that solar and wind and even battery storage are cheap and getting cheaper," Joyce emphasized. "Those are investments that the rest of the country is making to save ratepayers money."

Connecticut's General Assembly is weighing several climate change bills. It comes after what advocates describe as detrimental inaction on the legislative body's part in the last two years.

This is due to misinformation, Republican filibusters, and committee inaction.

HB 5004 is a major climate bill before lawmakers.

Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, said it covers a lot of ground to put action behind the state's 16-year-old climate goals.

"This effort - this session - is all about what can we do that would incentivize businesses, individuals, organizations, companies, entities, institutions," said Brown, "all to start really taking steps towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

The bill received wide support at a public hearing.

Critics say the bill encroaches on their freedoms and eliminates energy supply competition. Others argue climate change isn't caused by greenhouse gases, so this bill is unnecessary.

HB 5004 is expected to be voted on by the House this session.

Some environmental bills haven't faired too well. Brown said she feels they can come back next session since some failed due to time restraints, not lack of interest.

But, she said the new overarching climate bill takes a different approach to prevent it from its predecessors' doomed fate.

"It's more about the incentives and less about the penalties if you do not comply with our existing law," said Brown. "That is why this bill is so important to so many people. We can not have two years in a row with an absolute lack of action on climate."

Advocates are watching SB 191, which addresses food waste.

This bill calls for food scraps to be diverted from solid waste since food waste is responsible for up to 58% of all landfill methane emissions.

Globally, food waste accounts for up to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.