Brooklyn Museum Launches $48m Deep Energy Retrofit to Cut Carbon Emissions by 57%

Key facts

• The Brooklyn Museum is undertaking a $48m energy-efficiency retrofit announced in June by DCAS, the museum, and the New York Power Authority.
• The project aims to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 57%, over 3,300 metric tons per year, equivalent to taking 725 cars off the road.
• Work is expected to be completed in mid-2027 and includes solar carport panels, a new building-management system, HVAC upgrades, a high-efficiency hot-water system, and electric humidification control.
• The initiative supports Local Law 97, which requires a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases for city-government operations by 2030 from a 2006 baseline, aiming for net-zero by 2050.
• The Brooklyn Museum is one of 39 organisations in the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), which accounts for 4% of DCAS's total emissions.
• DCAS has also invested in projects at the Fashion Institute of Technology ($7m), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (30 projects, including $25m lighting), and the Museum of the Moving Image (over $7.5m over five years).
• Momi's latest upgrade replaced its chiller with an air-source heat pump system, expected to save about $235,900 annually and reduce emissions by roughly 1,000 tonnes.
• Funding resources for cultural institutions include Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative, which awards grants up to $100,000.