N.Y. is ready to tap into thermal energy. What are we waiting for?

Published in the Times Union on August 25, 2026

Imagine entire neighborhoods where homes, schools and businesses are connected through a shared network that provides efficient heating and cooling year-round. Instead of every building relying on its own aging boiler or air conditioner, thermal energy networks harness the constant temperatures beneath the Earth to deliver cleaner, more efficient energy to entire communities. 

This isn’t science fiction; it already exists. And we could have it in New York thanks to the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act. 

For New Yorkers, the promise of thermal energy networks is simple: lower energy costs, healthier communities and a more reliable energy system. The networks allow buildings to heat and cool more efficiently, reducing waste and helping consumers save money over the long term.

That’s why New York’s leaders passed the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act. Right now, 10 utility-led pilot projects are under consideration by the Public Service Commission.

This year, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature took the additional step of setting aside $150 million in the state budget to support these projects. Now the PSC must do its part: These projects need to be built, tested and expanded upon so New Yorkers can begin realizing their benefits.

Four proposed pilots particularly show the promise of this technology. Con Edison has designed a system that would connect Rockefeller Center to three commercial buildings along Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, providing clean heat via pipes in the subway system. In Brooklyn, a pilot would connect several buildings belonging to the New York City Housing Authority, along with neighboring businesses, through a shared system providing affordable heating and cooling to residents. In Haverstraw, Rockland County, a neighborhood-scale system would connect residential, commercial and municipal buildings, including 450 new homes. And in Syracuse, National Grid has proposed harnessing excess heat from a wastewater treatment plant to serve a new mixed-use development, proving that thermal energy networks can succeed even in upstate New York’s harsh climate.

As these thermal energy networks are built, they will create thousands of family-sustaining union jobs across the state. The projects will also create apprenticeship opportunities for the next generation of workers and strengthen local economies.

This isn’t a binary choice between affordability for the consumer and good jobs for the workers; it’s an opportunity to deliver both while constructing the modern
infrastructure that will serve New Yorkers for generations to come.

Every day these projects are delayed is another day New Yorkers wait for lower energy costs. It’s another day that cleaner, healthier communities remain on hold. It’s another day skilled union workers are left waiting for projects that have already been proposed and are ready to go.

Opportunities like this don’t come around often. The Public Service Commission should approve the 10 utility-led pilot projects authorized under the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act as soon as possible and allow construction to begin this year. It’s time to put shovels in the ground, create thousands of jobs and deliver infrastructure that makes energy more affordable for everyone.

Gary LaBarbera is the president of the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council. Mario Cilento is the president of the New York State AFL-CIO.