Driving Decarbonization Through District Steam: Con Edison's Plan to Reach Net Zero with the Largest Steam System in the United States
In a webinar hosted by the Urban Green Council, Con Edison President Matt Ketschke laid out an ambitious roadmap for how district steam can help New York City reach city- and state-wide energy goals. Read on to learn more about IDEA member company Con Edison’s plans to help ensure NYC’s renewable energy future based on that conversation.
On the busy streets of Manhattan, beneath the towering skyscrapers and labyrinth of subway lines, an unsung hero has been heating and cooling the city that never sleeps for nearly 150 years. And it could be New York City's secret weapon in the global race to decarbonization.
Con Edison’s district steam system began operations in 1882 and services some of the City’s iconic landmarks—the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, and the Guggenheim Museum. It has proven time and time again that it is just as adaptable as the city it serves. The United States’ largest district steam system could become a critical lever in achieving New York City’s ambitious decarbonization goals.
With over three million people living, working, or passing through buildings served by its steam system every day, Con Edison is aware of the challenge and the opportunity presented by its pursuit of decarbonizing to net zero.
Building On a History of Success
New York's district steam system is an underappreciated urban marvel, and a historic one. Con Edison's system of underground steam mains has grown over the years. It now boasts 105 miles from 96th Street down to Battery Park, serving a network of landmarks and residential customers that is approximately 1,500 strong. The 144-year-old system was built before, and outlasted, the first commercial power plant in the United States, NYC’s Pearl Street Electric Station. This longevity is driven by the ability of district systems to evolve to meet the changing demands of the areas they serve.
That capacity for evolution is critical. New York City has imposed some of the nation's toughest decarbonization mandates to dramatically slash greenhouse gas emissions. Local Law 97 caps the carbon footprint of any building over 25,000 square feet, and a series of compliance periods slowly drops those caps to zero by 2050. In this context, steam's current carbon footprint, relatively low compared to other options, offers building owners connected to the system a crucial lifeline as they work to meet the requirements of the first compliance period. But the real challenge is staying ahead and ensuring that Con Edison continues to decarbonize at a rate that allows their customers to increasingly lower their carbon emissions.
Fortunately, Con Edison has a proven track record when it comes to cutting emissions through district steam. Since 2005, they have reduced direct emissions by 60%, via fuel switching from oil to natural gas and harnessing waste heat through cogeneration. With the city-wide net zero by 2050 goal less than 25 years away, the current efforts are not enough. But Con Edison committed to decarbonization and knows that district steam is potentially the most efficient and effective way to get there.
Teaching An Old System New Tricks
When New York’s district steam system was first built, coal was the main source of energy for steam production. Over the years, Con Edison has incorporated increasing numbers of diverse energy sources into the district steam system, investing in solutions that ensure reliable heating and cooling for the entire system. Building on almost two decades of successful decarbonization efforts, they ran a steam decarbonization study in 2024 to inform their further efforts as they ramp up.
The main takeaway of the study: Reducing the carbon emissions that come from district steam is possible, and it requires deploying innovative technologies and integrating them into the production of steam. District systems like NYC’s are uniquely positioned to drive decarbonization at-scale because they are aggregators, able to tap into the benefits of new energy generation technology faster than other systems. By increasing the amount of renewable and efficient energy the steam system uses, Con Edison is decreasing, and eventually eliminating, the carbon footprint of 1,500 buildings in Manhattan.
Much of Con Edison's future steam will come from electrified or partially electrified processes, powered increasingly by renewable energy. The company is already piloting three projects to test these ideas, with the aim to see measurable emissions reductions beginning around 2035. Some of the technologies under evaluation included high-efficiency heat pumps that "scavenge" waste heat from the river or industrial processes, electric boilers powered by renewable electricity, and thermal storage systems to store excess heat during low-demand periods. Systems in Boston and parts of Europe are already deploying similar technology at scale, providing proof that it's not just theoretical.
One of the most compelling arguments for investing in steam decarbonization is New York City's unique built environment, layers of architectural history piled on top of each other. Many older buildings simply can't be easily retrofitted for full electrification without enormous cost, potential damage and disruption of critical activities.
On Road to Decarbonization
Con Edison envisions a future where the district steam system expands the network of customers it serves further—driving high-impact decarbonization efforts with the lowest possible impact to day-to-day life. This approach will be especially critical for public infrastructure, where retrofitting internal systems at places like hospitals, transit hubs and historic landmarks would be costly, unrealistic or practically impossible.
Of course, good ideas need green lights. As a regulated monopoly, Con Edison is required to submit all major investment plans to the New York State Department of Public Service for approval. This process ensures transparency while introducing additional complexity and time delays. The company needs to walk the line between implementing ambitious tactics and technology investments with careful consideration for costs to avoid overburdening consumers. While decarbonization and electrification usually lead to long-term savings, the short-term costs of new projects can be reflected in customers’ bills. The utility provider is working to ensure that decarbonization doesn’t come at the expense of affordability.
Con Edison distributed $320 million in energy efficiency incentives in 2024, with $80 million directed specifically toward low- and moderate-income customers. Incentives are part of their portfolio-wide decarbonization efforts that also include investments in energy storage technology and transmission and distribution upgrades to integrate renewable energy. While district steam is a big piece of the puzzle, Con Edison is working to decarbonize all of its energy delivery systems to meet New York City’s net-zero building goals by 2050.
The road to achieving net zero might appear daunting, but Con Edison has laid out a detailed road map based on proven experience and they’re ready to pick up the pace. Their approach is incremental, pilot-driven and data-informed. Their district steam system is ready to aggregate energy from diverse, renewable sources and integrate it into the existing district network. As innovative new technologies emerge over the next 25 years, the 144-year-old system will be able to disperse the benefits almost instantly throughout Manhattan, ensuring rapid adoption and decarbonization. Through deploying its district steam system as a clean energy aggregator, New York City isn't just preserving a relic of its 19th-century past—it’s turning it into a 21st-century climate solution.
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