New York City is exploring whether electric-powered construction equipment can cut pollution and noise at city worksites as officials look for ways to make municipal operations cleaner.
The city announced its first Clean Construction Innovation pilot Friday during Climate Week NYC, with six pieces of zero-emission equipment being tested in the Queens and Staten Island boroughs.
“Through the Clean Construction Pilot, we are equipping city workers with fully electric machines to reduce emissions and noise pollution where New Yorkers work and live.”
The project is part of the city’s Smart City Testbed Program, which uses real-world city operations to evaluate emerging technologies, including pedestrian counting, augmented reality and infrastructure safety.
In the Friday announcement, Louise Yeung, chief climate officer for the city, said the pilot will also examine “what it takes to successfully adopt the next generation of construction equipment across City operations” and will help shape the next NYC Climate Plan.