New York State passes law to facilitate deeper geothermal drilling

NYSE, Wall Street, New York (source: flickr/ b00nj, creative commons)

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into legislation S6604 which, along with companion bill A6949, removes outdated regulatory requirements that place geothermal boreholes under regulations designed for oil and gas drilling.

With the change in regulations, many barriers have been removed that enables drilling at depth greater than 500 feet for geothermal systems. This allows residential and commercial buildings to now benefit from the energy savings of geothermal heat pumps, and makes geothermal systems accessible to more New Yorkers.

The law implements key recommendations of the Climate Action Council and is an important step toward the state’s goal of 2 million electrified and electricity-ready homes by 2030. The geothermal heat pump industry is installing hundreds of systems for New York building owners every year. The new regulations created under this law will significantly increase access to geothermal across the state and help ensure New York meets its climate goals.

The New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) and Dandelion Energy had each published statements previously that called for the passage of S6604. With the passing of the new law, both organizations are applauding the New York Governor and the legislators who originally proposed the law, New York State Senator Peter Harckham (D-40) and Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D-66).

“To expand the drilling depth for closed loop geothermal boreholes is an important step forward to enable geothermal systems. We would like to thank the Legislature, the Governor, and especially the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for their efforts to enable geothermal technologies to thrive in New York State to replace fossil fuels for heating and hot water needs. New York has not only become the State of Opportunity, but it has also become a leader in implementing renewable energy,” said Jens Ponikau, President of NY-GEO and co-owner of Buffalo Geothermal.

“We are thrilled that Governor Hochul has signed this bill into law. It will have a transformative impact for our customers and all New Yorkers looking to install geothermal in their homes, since it will allow almost all homes to be heated with one borehole rather than two,” added Kathy Hannun, co-founder and President of Dandelion Energy.

“Easing restrictions on geothermal energy development is a major step in our transition to a clean energy economy. Decoupling clean geothermal energy from regulations that are meant to govern the dirty oil and gas sectors will help pave the way for affordable and efficient heating and cooling solutions and will go a long way toward reducing emissions from the state’s building sector,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

Source: New York Geothermal Energy Organization via PR Newswire