Overcoming Legal and Regulatory Barriers to District Geothermal in New York State



States: New York,
Resource Type: Report

Adoption Year: 2021
Abstract: This study examines the legal and regulatory issues confronting the development of district geothermal energy systems in the State of New York. Although geothermal technology is a reliable and economically feasible zero-emission source of building heat, resolving regulatory and property rights and permitting issues required to adopt district geothermal systems pose significant barriers. We evaluate geothermal projects along a continuum of complexity—from single owner systems—including a single owner of multiple buildings on a single parcel of land (such as a college campus)—to systems that involve multiple owners of buildings on numerous parcels of land (such as serving a downtown core). This study considers how property rights and pe...
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