$10 million in funding available under round three Buildings of Excellence Design Competition

New York, NY According to Governor Kathy Hochul, $10 million in funding is now available under Round Three of the $40 million Buildings of Excellence Design Competition, which aims to deliver carbon neutral multifamily buildings for New York State. Round Three adds a new component to the competition, funding early-stage support for design teams and developers to ensure the most cost-effective solutions are integrated into projects from the start to build healthier and more comfortable multifamily buildings. This competition advances Governor Hochul's new goal to achieve two million climate-friendly homes by 2030 and supports the state's nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 on our way to a carbon-neutral building stock.    

"New York is leading the way to deliver clean, safe and affordable housing for future generations," Governor Hochul said. "Supporting climate friendly new construction is transforming how the building industry identifies and implements climate solutions and helping us deliver tangible results as we transition to a clean energy economy and address the growing impacts of our changing climate."  

The Buildings of Excellence Competition is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the proposals are being accepted for early-stage design projects that integrate carbon neutral features into pre-schematic and schematic design phases, and construction and completion of exemplary carbon neutral multi-family buildings. In support of the Climate Act's goal to ensure that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments support disadvantaged communities, at least half of the funding through this Third Round of the Challenge is targeted for projects that support low-to-moderate income residents.   

NYSERDA president and CEO Doreen Harris said, "NYSERDA is pleased to launch the third round of the Buildings of Excellence Competition in support of Governor Hochul's goal to achieve two million climate friendly homes by 2030. This program is the first-of-its-kind in the nation, spurring innovative, forward-thinking projects that advance replicable and cost-effective carbon neutral construction that provides healthy living and work-spaces for all New Yorkers."   

Launched in 2019, the Buildings of Excellence competition is providing financial incentives and recognition for the design, construction, and operation of resilient climate friendly buildings that are healthy and energy efficient living spaces that offer predictable revenue and costs. With the support of industry experts, the Competition revolutionizes the new construction and adaptive reuse of multifamily housing and commercial space by showing that carbon neutral buildings can be built cost-competitively to traditional fossil-fuel powered dwellings.   

The Buildings of Excellence Competition prioritizes housing and energy affordability, equity and serving disadvantaged communities and downtown revitalization. More than forty new construction and adaptive reuse projects were awarded in the first two rounds of the competition - and more than two-thirds of the high-performing new construction buildings serve affordable housing markets. Additionally, data gathered from past awardees has been shared with and used by policy makers, including the Climate Action Council, and the NYC Council, to help inform decision making and demonstrate that carbon neutral construction is technically and financially feasible.   

Buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State, responsible for 43 percent of annual emissions statewide. Integrating energy efficiency and electrification measures in new and existing buildings will reduce carbon pollution and help achieve more sustainable, healthy, and comfortable buildings in support of the state's ambitious goal to achieve 2 million climate-friendly homes by 2030. Through NYSERDA and utility programs, over $6.8 billion is being invested to decarbonize buildings to achieve the State's decarbonization goals. By improving energy efficiency in buildings and including onsite storage, renewables, and electric vehicle charging equipment, the State will reduce carbon pollution and advance the target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion Btus by 2025, the equivalent of powering 1.8 million homes. Energy efficiency accounts for 75 percent of the clean energy jobs across New York.

Funding for this program is through the state's $6 billion Clean Energy Fund and is part of NYSERDA's more than $150 million investment in new construction and gut rehab projects in the multifamily building sector including market rate and low- to moderate-income.