BlocPower, a clean technology start-up, is greening buildings in New York City and beyond. About 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings. And when buildings use oil or natural gas as a heating fuel, they also produce smoke that can cause or worsen asthma and other health problems.

In New York City alone, more than 10,000 multifamily buildings still use boilers run on fuel oil or natural gas, and buildings that primarily serve low-income tenants are least positioned to pay for the expensive upgrades that would eliminate these emissions.

Enter BlocPower, a Black-owned, cleantech startup that works with these buildings to turn them green, swapping oil or gas for heat pumps. The startup helps buildings transition away from fossil-fuel-powered boilers and toward electric heat pumps, without paying large sums of money upfront. BlocPower — and its investors — are repaid from the savings on buildings’ utility bills. In New York City, BlocPower has made it work for over 1,000 buildings, with 24 ongoing projects in other U.S. cities.

“Two of the barriers that we break down are customer acquisition costs and the lack of capital by building owners,” explains Keith Kinch, General Manager and co-Founder at BlocPower. Building owners complete a survey on the BlocPower website and get an analysis of their building’s energy savings potential. But many building owners don’t have capital to finance these projects on their own, so BlocPower provides a no money down lease option. Building owners get a new heating or cooling system and save up to 70 percent on their energy bills. Kinch explains the importance of overcoming those two barriers with the company’s unofficial motto: “We are turning buildings into Teslas!”

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