NYC’s Empire State Building gets green makover

New York Times : Besides completing a series of efficiency upgrades and other energy retrofits, caretakers for New York’s Empire State Building have agreed to purchase 55 million kilowatt-hours worth of renewable energy certificates annually—enough to cover the building’s yearly electricity consumption. Trumpeting large-scale purchases of renewable energy certificates has become increasingly common among businesses and institutions seeking to improve their green reputations, writes Tom Zeller Jr for the New York Times. Whether the purchase of RECs will encourage greater production of renewable energy remains to be seen, but as Zeller points out, “it still seems a notable milestone for New York’s most famous landmark.”