City's new microturbine rules empower building owners.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a new rule setting the country's first standard for the safe use and installation of microturbine systems in residential and commercial buildings. Microturbines are highly efficient turbine generators that recover and reuse the wasted heat of their own combustion process, after producing electricity and heat for a building, to provide energy for other building operations. By reusing heat that would otherwise be exhausted into the atmosphere, microturbines greatly increase the usable energy produced by fossil fuels, reduce carbon emissions, and provide building owners opportunities for operational cost savings.

Buildings in New York City generate 79% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions. By supplying on-site power generation to buildings, microturbine systems provide an energy-efficient supplement to power plants, New York City's conventional power supply. Estimates show, for a given amount of fossil fuel, microturbines generate 70 to 80% of its usable energy, whereas only 30 to 35% of the energy produced by power plants is usable.

The market for on-site power generation technology has expanded in recent years as residential and commercial building owners demanded new ways to lower building operational costs and provide back-up energy in the case of power losses.

While regulations exist for microturbine systems used in manufacturing buildings, no major US city has regulated the safe use and installation of microturbines in residential and commercial buildings until now. The new rule enables building owners to take advantage of microturbine technology, which will help the City reach its PlaNYC goal of expanding clean distributed power generation citywide.

"The use of microturbines to generate electricity on site at commercial and residential buildings benefits us all," said Real Estate Board of New York president Steven Spinola. "Because of the efficiency of these systems, New Yorkers will breathe cleaner air and building owners will save on operating costs. We can also add needed electric generation capacity without further taxing the transmission and distribution systems."

"Distributed generation of energy is crucial to making New York a greener and more sustainable city," said Douglas Durst, co-president of The Durst Organization.

Under the new rule, microturbine systems approved by nationally recognized testing laboratories can be installed at residential and commercial buildings in various locations. To install approved microturbine systems, a building owner must receive clearance from the utility company and file an application with the Buildings Department. Once a permit is obtained and the system is installed, an owner must obtain a permit from the Fire Department to operate it.