New York City Mayor's Office of Sustainability – Jennifer Helfrich – 2016

Goals:

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS) enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Jennifer Helfrich to support the Energy Supply and Transportation teams with the planning and implementation processes for reaching the City’s OneNYC goal of reducing GHG 80% by 2050 from 2005 levels. Jennifer was tasked with bundling strategies and actions into feasible scenarios that could not only get the City to 80×50, but do so in an economic, socially just and resilient way. The 80×50 analysis is intended to lay out a roadmap for combining future innovation with past success for achieving the City’s ambitious GHG reduction goals.

Solutions:

Jennifer researched opportunities for the teams to adopt technologies and enter new markets. For the Energy Supply team, she examined distributed energy resources and for the Transportation team, she suggested electric vehicles. A significant portion of Jenny’s work amounted to her idea of incorporating energy storage technology into 80×50. She created ways to increase the ability of storages to decarbonize the grid, both behind the meter and as a transmission asset.

Throughout her fellowship, Helfrich also supported the regulatory and legislative affairs of MOS. Two of her primary projects in this area were vetting the sustainability, economics and technical feasibility of mandating 20% biodiesel in heating fuel, and researching best practices for incorporating social and environmental values into the price signals for investments in distributed renewable energy.

Potential Impact:

The analysis of implementing 80×50 creates a roadmap for achieving the City’s 80% reduction goals and lays the groundwork for cities around the world to pursue similarly rapid and deep cuts in carbon emissions. Jenny’s two regulatory and legislative projects will not only help reduce GHGs, but do so in a way that prioritizes equity and environmental justice.