BlocPower is a Brooklyn-based company founded in 2014 by Donnel Baird and Keith Kinch. It works to reduce building emissions and energy inequity by helping property owners replace fossil-fuel systems with more efficient electric heating and cooling, alongside other building upgrades.479 Its approach combines construction management and project financing with software that helps cities and building owners identify potential upgrades and estimate costs and savings.28
The company’s work spans the United States, with projects and partnerships reported in cities including New York, Oakland, Denver, Ithaca, San José and Cambridge.68 Its services have included heat-pump installations, weatherization, electrical-panel upgrades and rooftop solar; the Cambridge pilot, for example, focused on multifamily buildings and offered project management and financing for such improvements.8 BlocPower has also linked building decarbonization to workforce development: a New York City program announced with the Mayor’s Office aimed to train residents for green-economy jobs.67
Ithaca became one of its most prominent initiatives. In 2022, CNBC described BlocPower’s role in a city plan targeting 6,000 buildings, including electrification efforts for 1,000 residential and 600 commercial properties.11 The company’s reported project totals vary by source and date: its current site says it has completed more than 1,200 measures in over 1,100 buildings, while other reporting cites more than 5,000 households, commercial buildings and houses of worship served since 2014.26