Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings

The document assesses the viability of low-carbon fuels for New York's building sector, concluding that they are inefficient and costly compared to direct electrification. It highlights that green hydrogen requires significantly more clean electricity than heat pumps and poses infrastructure risks like pipeline embrittlement. Additionally, it notes that biomethane supplies are insufficient to meet demand and that both biomethane and synthetic methane introduce new methane emission risks. The brief advocates for prioritizing energy efficiency and electrification to meet the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

• Heating buildings with green hydrogen is significantly less energy-efficient than using electric heat pumps; a typical New York home requiring 15 MWh of heating energy annually would need over 25 MWh of clean electricity for green hydrogen, compared to only 5–6 MWh for a high-performing heat pump.
• Scaling green hydrogen to meet New York's current residential and commercial natural gas consumption of 828 TBtu per year would require 308 TWh/y of clean electricity generation, which is nearly the total electricity production of 320 TWh/y anticipated by the Climate Action Council for all sectors by 2050.
• Existing gas infrastructure is unsuitable for high concentrations of hydrogen, as the gas can cause metal pipeline embrittlement. New York has nearly 49,000 miles of distribution pipeline, including over 22,000 miles of steel or cast-iron pipes that may require costly replacement.
• Green hydrogen is prohibitively expensive for mass heating; while current average costs are $5/kg ($37/MMBtu), projected 2030 prices of $1–$2/kg ($7.40–$15.00/MMBtu) remain significantly higher than historical fossil gas prices of $2–$3/MMBtu.
• Combusting hydrogen in buildings produces harmful air pollutants, specifically nitrogen oxides (NOx), with some studies indicating emissions can be up to six times higher than those from burning methane.
• Blending hydrogen with methane is ineffective for deep decarbonization; a 20% blend by volume would only reduce methane use and emissions by 7%.
• Biomethane supply is insufficient for New York's needs, with a NYSERDA study identifying a potential supply of 90 TBtu/y by 2040, which represents only 11% of the buildings sector gas demand.
• Biomethane and synthetic methane are not carbon-free solutions; they can create new methane emissions through thermal gasification and leakage. Furthermore, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation accounts for gross CO2 emissions from biomethane combustion similarly to fossil gas.

APA

RMI (2022). Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings. https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-fuels-have-a-limited-role-to-play-in-new-yorks-buildings/

Chicago

RMI. Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-fuels-have-a-limited-role-to-play-in-new-yorks-buildings/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings |date=25 May 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-fuels-have-a-limited-role-to-play-in-new-yorks-buildings/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022lowcarbon, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/low-carbon-fuels-have-a-limited-role-to-play-in-new-yorks-buildings/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }