Building Resilience to Extreme Weather Events in New York

Summary

The State of New York has launched a vast program to adapt to climate change and build resilience to extreme events. The measures range from efforts to reduce electricity use, storm hardening, flood protection, risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, vulnerability studies, and alternative resilience strategies. The actions and initiatives address the three innovation drivers: policy, technology, and finance. For instance, Energy Storage Platform, a public-private partnership sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison) allows sharing information about energy storage for a targeted audience of commercial and large residential property managers. The free information tool was designed for easy input of information from bills and analyzes building suitability for energy storage based on demand charges, service rates, and utilization factors.

Key take-away

Policy-making, technological shift and financial support may help driving innovation in climate adaptation.