Vornado Realty Trust is spearheading a groundbreaking retrofit at 1 Pennsylvania Plaza (PENN 1) in New York City, aiming to reach 100% carbon neutrality by 2040. This ambitious project is part of the company’s broader commitment to environmental sustainability, as outlined in their Vision 2030. PENN 1, a towering landmark in midtown Manhattan, stands at 57 stories and spans approximately 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space. Constructed in 1972, the building is a key component of THE PENN DISTRICT, Vornado’s flagship property cluster.
The roadmap to carbon neutrality at PENN 1 includes advanced waterside heat recovery measures. This strategy focuses on capturing and reusing heat from the building’s condenser water loop, a method that not only reduces heating loads but also facilitates a subsequent transition to electrification through air-source heat pumps and thermal storage. The PENN 1 project demonstrates a ‘thermal dispatch model,’ in which carbon-free energy sources are gradually deployed to fulfill the heating and cooling demands of a large commercial building.
By adopting this innovative approach, Vornado aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of PENN 1 while also setting a replicable model for building decarbonization in New York City. This initiative underscores Vornado’s role as a leader in sustainable real estate development, with a portfolio that includes over 34 million square feet of premier assets across New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Through Vision 2030, Vornado’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and a 50% site energy reduction reflects their dedication to pioneering sustainable solutions in the urban landscape.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Capital costs of decarbonization (est. in 2025 $).
Energy cost savings (2026–2050 [25 yrs]): 3.56M.
Repairs and maintenance savings: 99k.
BAU cost of system replacement/upgrades: 2.7M.
Residual cost (remaining equipment value): 764k.
LL97 fines avoided starting in 2030.
Incentives.
Net difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Lessons from New York’s Empire Building Challenge
This article, published in NESEA’s BuildingEnergy magazine (Vol. 40 No. 1), addresses common “decarbonization blind spots” that impede progress and shares insights gained from the incremental methodology and integrated design process pioneered through NYSERDA’s Empire Building Challenge.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Large commercial and residential buildings must overcome various hurdles before implementing deep retrofits or capital projects that help achieve building decarbonization. This section addresses technical barriers and questions often faced by building owners and retrofit project developers.
Below are high temperature renewable resource alternatives to district steam. These alternatives are limited and face barriers to implementation due to cost, scalability, and other factors.
Building Electric Capacity Upgrades
Local Network Electric Capacity Upgrades
Gas Utility Earnings Adjustment Mechanisms (EAM) focused on System Peak Demand Reductions
Total Connected Loads and Peak Demand drive need for capacity upgrades
Thermal Storage
Geothermal (ambient temperature), Deep Bore Geothermal (high temperature) or Shared Loop District Energy Systems provide cooling and heating with lower peak demand than standard electric equipment
Other Energy Efficiency/Conservation Measures with proven/attractive economics (these measures are limited by lack of capital or knowledge)
Behavioral Modification
Submetering and billing, potentially creates split incentive between landlord and tenant
These include multi-purpose technology for heating, cooling, heat exchange and ventilation, filtration, and/or domestic hot water.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
These playbooks summarize retrofit strategies that maximize occupant comfort and energy savings through a transition from fuel to electricity- based heating, cooling and hot water systems.
Playbooks are organized by building system— lighting & loads, envelope, ventilation, heating & cooling, and domestic hot water– detailing common existing systems, typical issues, and recommended measures.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
The Empire Technology Prize is a $10 million competitive opportunity for global solution providers focused on advancing building technologies for low-carbon heating system retrofits in tall commercial and multifamily buildings across New York State. This NYSERDA initiative, administered by The Clean Fight with technical support from Rocky Mountain Institute, includes a $3 million sponsorship from Wells Fargo. Accelerating low-carbon building retrofits is fundamental to New York State’s national-leading Climate Act agenda, including the goal to achieve an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
While each individual building has a unique capital improvement plan and timeline, retrofit projects or decarbonization interventions may be organized and grouped by similarity as property owners plan for the future. Below is the overarching hierarchy for decarbonization intervention points according to industry best practices:
Located in Yonkers, NY, Whitney Young Manor, is a notable affordable housing complex with 195 apartments across 234,000 square feet and 12 stories. Built in 1974, the housing complex is now undergoing a $22 million makeover focusing heavily on decarbonization upgrades. This renovation aims to modernize the buildings by improving insulation and introducing a new heating and cooling system that’s energy efficient. These changes are expected to lower the buildings’ carbon footprint, enhance living conditions, and reduce energy costs. The developer, Paths Development LLC, is leveraging the recapitalization cycle of the property to upgrade its infrastructure and include decarbonization measures to meet its climate goals.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
12 million
of total investment allocated to bring Whitney Young Manor to carbon neutrality by 2035.
Project has potential replication across a portfolio of 51 existing affordable housing developments managed by Paths.
“The Empire Building Challenge is enabling Paths to pilot innovative approaches to decarbonization while at the same time helping to preserve affordable housing.”
Kenneth Spillberg
Head of Development
Paths Development LLC
This project prioritizes intensive load reduction through envelope improvements and hydronic distribution to improve resident comfort while reducing carbon emissions, utility spend and maintenance costs.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Capital costs of decarbonization measures.
Energy cost savings, repairs and maintenance savings, BAU cost of system replacement and upgrades.
LL97 emissions fines don’t apply at this property.
Incentives from Empire Building Challenge, Low-Carbon Pathways Program, and ConEd Clean Heat.
Net difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Energy conservation analysis at midtown tower
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
These case studies cover projects that will dramatically reduce carbon emissions with deep energy retrofits for affordable multifamily housing in the Boston area. Deep energy retrofits dramatically reduce carbon emissions. These renovations transform affordable housing to be highly energy efficient, all-electric, powered by clean renewable energy, and renovated with materials low in embodied carbon. These projects are part of the Advanced Building Construction Collaborative’s demand aggregation. This work aims to demonstrate streamlined deep energy retrofits and retrofits using advanced building construction techniques to accelerate the adoption of this work in the market.
Planning
Under Construction
Monitoring & Evaluation
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
The Empire Technology Prize team has produced the New York State Market Insight and Characterization report, which explores the technical challenges posed by achieving efficient decarbonization of heating systems and explores alternatives in two focus areas: high temperature heat pumps, and minimally disruptive distribution system solutions.
This website is brought to you in partnership by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, RMI, Building Energy Exchange, and Urban Land Institute.
