Sep 19, 2023

Photo by Kristen Blush ✕ Managing resilience is a marathon, not a sprint, said Rohit Rit" Aggarwala, commissioner of New York City's Dept. of Environmental Protection and its first chief climate officer. “The reality is that for the rest of my life, we are going to be playing catch up to climate change, which is changing faster than our infrastructure can keep up,” he told hundreds of attendees at ENR’s second annual NY/NJ Infrastructure Forum on Sept. 15 in Manhattan. Managing resilience is a marathon, not a sprint, said Rohit "Rit" Aggarwala, commissioner of New York City's Dept. of Environmental Protection and the city's first chief climate officer. “The reality is that for the rest of my life, we are going to be playing catch up to climate change, which is changing faster than our infrastructure can keep up,” he told hundreds of attendees at ENR’s second annual NY/NJ Infrastructure Forum on Sept. 15 in Manhattan. State and regional agency chiefs from New York and New Jersey addressed the looming mega-challenge of readying all regional energy and environmental infrastructure to meet climate change-generated needs and risks. The city released proposed guidelines this week to implement the landmark Local Law 97, which will require 50,000 buildings to comply with carbon limits that will incrementally increase, starting next year, to reach a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Buildings generate about 70% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions. Aggarwala predicted compliance will require an estimated $12 billion to $15 billion in upgrades between now and 2030. The law remains controversial, but the DEP commissioner said it will be one of the city’s most important tools for addressing climate change. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now taking the lead on an estimated $61.5  billion program to redesign New York Harbor, but the city is also "actively engaged," Aggarwala said. While the program's execution will take three decades, a few related projects are already underway, including key stormwater management efforts. Meanwhile, the commissioner said his agency will soon take responsibility in a dedicated office to oversee city-wide coastal resilience. Related to project funding, Aggarwala said the city was “structurally disadvantaged” in gaining federal funding, due to population size limits set by the state, which processes the money. He said his agency was awaiting word on potential changes to that exclusion. Also awaited is completion of the estimated $309-million construction of four continuous-pour concrete anaerobic digesters at the Hunt’s Point wastewater treatment plant complex in the South Bronx, set for October. Energized NY, NJ Infrastructure Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), noted major programs underway to develop billions of dollars of new clean energy infrastructure and expanded transmission capacity to meet state climate law mandates and increased electrical power demand. The law sets a target for 70% renewables by 2030, and a 100% zero-emission power grid by 2040. “We are integrally involved in the investments being made in overall infrastructure,” she said. “Intersections between our agencies are ever more present because … we're looking at every sector of our economy.” Harris said by 2050, state peak demand will increase by up to 80% . Transmission infrastructure is expanding across New York state to accelerate clean energy sources. Effort includes the 340-mile Champlain-Hudson Power Express line from Canada to New York City (not pictured), a privately funded and underground high-voltage line that is now getting underway Credit: NYSERDA *Click the image for greater detail “That means we need a grid that is not only expanded, but more flexible and better able to respond to peaks and valleys,” she said. NYSERDA’S new integration analysis “lays out pathways for this economy-wide transition,” Harris said. “Wind, water and sunlight will actually be the primary sources of the powering of our economy moving forward,” she added, with low carbon fuels such as bioenergy and hydrogen set to be tapped for hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Harris emphasized new transmission construction as the “unsung hero” to reach emission reduction targets. “Our investment to build out our infrastructure to support these goals is truly historic,” she said, terming it the largest transmission infrastructure boost in New York in the past 50 years. Projects include U.S. construction now getting underway of the 340-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express, an estimated $6-billion, high-voltage, direct current underground cable that will carry hydropower from Canada to New York City, which still is mostly natural-gas powered. The state-sanctioned project is being privately funded by investor giant Blackstone. "We are actively building this project as we speak,” said Gene Martin, president of Blackstone unit TDI that has been developing it for 13 years. He said the line will provide about 20% of energy needed in New York City, replacing power lost by shutting down a nuclear power plant in Queens. Once operating in 2026, it will be the largest transmission line in the U.S. built entirely underwater and underground. “It’s an interesting world we are in in terms of political aspirations and what we want to achieve to get to that renewable economy,” said Martin, a former AECOM executive. Harris said new local and bulk transmission projects, which she termed "gamechangers," are set to deliver one-third of New York City's annual electric consumption. Infrastructure also is underway to meet the state mandate to generate 9 GW of offshore wind energy by 2035. The state's first project, the 123-MW South Fork Wind, is set to complete construction this year off Long Island, with work also underway in New York City and elsewhere to develop major new ports for project component assembly. But Harris acknowledged recent construction cost headwinds, "significant and unforeseen by the industry," which have offshore wind developers in New York, as well as in New Jersey, seeking contract adjustments and raising concerns about added project delay. “This reflects that we are not living in a world that is a very straight line,” she said. “I think it's important for all of us not to be blindly optimistic about how we get from here to there.” Coping With Project Risk With challenges for all sector projects growing exponentially along with size, execution risks “are more intertwined and complex,” said Jamey Barbas, a veteran regional transportation agency megaproject executive, noting schedule demand, staffing shortfalls and unforeseen costs. “Most concerning are the stacked challenges in energy transition,” said Kent Herzog, northeast managing director at Burns & McDonnell, noting needs for rapid electrification that are “huge, not incremental," as well as talent constraints, permitting and regulatory hurdles and lack of component standardization. “Our industry has 50 different sizes of conductors and almost every single size of transformer,” he said. “Laws put the money out there, now we have to find the resources.” Mike Taylor, head of ports for Equinor US Renewables, noted flaws in risk allocation at the project level. He pointed to the current approach of an offshore wind project developer having to assume risk linked to costs and schedule of a grid upgrade “usually before they’re known or at least estimated to the degree any one of us would feel comfortable signing on to.” Said Taylor: “Better allocation means better execution and lower cost to the whole supply chain.” “Most concerning are the stacked challenges in energy transition. Laws put the money out there, now we have to find the resources." Kent Herzog, Northeast managing director, Burns & McDonnell Risks for infrastructure megaprojects getting underway are not just local, added Joe Cazares, program management director at Jacobs, with supply chain progress impacted by things “like containers coming through the Panama Canal and $1.6 trillion in Middle East construction sucking a lot of the talent.” The dimensions of infrastructure programs starting and planned pose challenges for cities like New York City, said Jamie Tores-Springer, president of its transportation agency unit MTA Construction and Development. “Getting new transmission to the city will be very complex,” he said, noting aspects of “building in a dense urban environment that we can’t change.” He said owners can help by “providing lead time and predictability” in structuring procurement. Related to advance “strategic sourcing” of materials, Torres-Springer noted the benefits but said the agency still sees risk. “We’re worried we would buy something that didn’t make sense in a system, once our builder was on board,” he said. Panelists see artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential risk mitigator but with its own limitations. Burns & McDonnell has begun using it to create an internal Chat GPT to respond to owner RFPs, “trying to create in seconds a 60% draft proposal that a human could use as a basis for a proposal," said Herzog. "We’re trying to go from a 3D modeled infrastructure project to a 60% design package with no human interaction." Equinor uses AI for analysis of wind and ocean patterns, said Taylor, but noted that “until it gets smart enough to differentiate fake news and real news, it won't replace human common sense.” Echoed Cazares: "It’s well written, but misses the point.” Said Barbas: “It will take three years for AI to get to a place to realize schedule optimization.” Johanna Knapschaefer, ENR’s New England Special Correspondent, has been writing about trends in design and construction of buildings, bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure for more than a decade. She also profiles award-winning industry leaders and delves into broader construction issues such as workforce training, worker safety and health, climate change remediation and emerging offshore wind and tidal energy developments. Over the past two decades, her articles have appeared in Architectural Record, BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, American Banker, Modern Metals, BusinessNH Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine and many other publications. Johanna is fluent in Japanese, and taught English and academic writing in the Science and Engineering Department of Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, while living in Japan for eight years. When not writing, Johanna enjoys mountain climbing, singing and playing her Spanish guitar. Emell Derra Adolphus has more than a decade of writing and journalism experience. He is senior editor of ENR’s Top Lists and Survey Rankings at ENR magazine and frequently contributes stories on technology, climate resiliency, diversity, equity and inclusion. As ENR Editor-at-Large for Energy, Business and Workforce, Debra K. Rubin has a broad vantage for news, issues and trends in global engineering and construction related to key areas of global energy development and transition, corporate business and management, regulation and risk and next-generation workforce development. Debra also launched and manages ENR's Top 200 Environmental Firms annual ranking, which defines key players in the dynamic global market for environmental services; and is editor of ENR WorkforceToday e-newsletter on industry talent management news and trends. Click here to receive this free monthly newsletter. She also is a key organizer of ENR's annual Groundbreaking Women in Construction conference, a major AEC industry forum for talent management and women's career advancement. Click here for more detail on plans in formation for the next live event.