Welcome to the Summer 2020 Edition of our Southern Tier Clean Energy Communities (CEC) quarterly newsletter!
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep municipalities, elected officials, and others in the counties of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins informed about the great work being performed in the Southern Tier to make our communities more sustainable and energy efficient. As coordinators, our focus is NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities initiative and other energy-related activities taking place throughout the region. We are available to assist you, your local government, and your community as you implement clean energy actions, save energy costs, create jobs, and improve the environment.
The Southern Tier region now has 37 officially designated Clean Energy Communities! Work continues with many other municipalities seeking designation and advice on energy usage. CEC coordinators are available to function as your municipality's energy advisor. If you have any questions regarding energy usage, or if you're interested in joining the movement towards becoming a Clean Energy Community, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Southern Tier CEC Team
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It is hard to believe that summer is almost over and fall is right around the corner. We have a full newsletter for you, including new clean energy projects made by Southern Tier communities, energy news, and upcoming events (bother virtual and in person). Although things may have felt stagnant over the past few months, rest assured that our region is still making strides in both the Clean Energy and Climate Smart Communities programs.
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We wanted to give a shout out and farewell to our summer intern, Amy Gonzalez. Although she was only working with the CEC Team for a short period, she was instrumental in the completion of the Town of Caroline Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Town of Lansing Natural Resource Inventory, as well as assisting with the Town of Lansing Green House Gas Inventory and the Town of Hector Natural Resource Inventory.
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Our summer community spotlight goes to the VIllage of Sherburne in Chenango County. Despite the setbacks and challenges presented by the COVID-19 virus, Sherburne has joined both the Clean Energy Communities (CEC) and Climate Smart Communities (CSC) programs. For the Clean Energy Communities program, the Village of Sherburne has completed two high impact action items, LED Street Lights and Clean Fleets.
To complete the LED Street Light action, municipalities must convert at least 50 percent of all municipal (may be utility-owned) “cobra-head” street lights to LED within the geographic jurisdiction and convert a minimum of 10 fixtures to LED. Sherburne owns a total of 313 street lights and has so far converted 231 of them to LEDs, or roughly 74% of their street lights.
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To earn credit for the Clean Fleet action item, municipalities must install at least one EV charging station with two Level 2 charging ports and/or other alternative fuel infrastructure OR deploy at least one alternative fuel vehicle in the municipal fleet.
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The Village of Sherburne purchased a Chevy Volt for their municipal fleet and installed a charging station. The charging station is municipal owned but is open for public use
Although the Village of Sherburne recently joined the CEC and CSC program, they had done work prior that counted towards their completed action items. If your municipality is interested in the CEC or CSC program, or if you have done any actions outside of the programs that you feel could be applied towards action items, please contact us!
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The Town of Hamden in Delaware County received a $50,000 grant from the Clean Energy Communities program and used the funding to instal a 16.2 Kw solar installation on the roof of their town hall. The grant funding fully covered the $44,312 project cost.
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"The Town of Hamden's 16.2 Kw DC solar project is working wonderfully. We have generated over 10,000 kwh's so far this year and the carbon effect savings for our environment is 3090 lbs. Mother nature has given us plenty of sun and our solar array is reciprocating in production. We are very pleased in the installation and the operation of the system and wish we were able to do it years ago. The Clean Energy Program and our coordinators are truly a blessing for our small communities! "
Wayne Marshfield, Town Supervisor
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The solar panels produce enough energy to cover the electric needed for the Town Hall and the Town Garage, and any excess electricity produced is shown as a monetary credit to their bill. The town expects to save $2,600/ year and produce 18.669 kwh annually.
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To receive credit for completing the Clean Energy Upgrades action, municipalities must complete energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades sufficient to achieve at least a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions against the baseline.
This action can be completed in a variety of ways, solar installation being one. Other examples include:
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Lighting Upgrades
Building HVAC
- Controls / Building Management Systems
- Motors and VSDs
- Boiler and chiller plant upgrades
Building Envelope
- Doors and windows
- Insulation
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Water and Waste Water Facilities
- Motors and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
- Controls
- Digester Gas Systems
Renewable Energy Projects
- Solar photovoltaic (PV)
- Geothermal Heat Pumps
- Wind Turbines
Domestic water heating systems
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Solar installations can also count for actions within the Climate Smart Communities Program, specifically Action 4- Solar Energy Installation and can contribute to Action 12- Performance: Reduce Emissions from the Government Facilities.
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Congratulations to the Town of Sherburne for joining the Clean Energy Communities Program!
Although they just signed up this summer, they had already completed clean energy projects that counted towards the CEC program.
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Congratulations to the Town of Sherburne and the Town of Newfield for taking the Climate Smart Communities pledge!
Your Clean Energy Communities Team has also been working on technical documents for Southern Tier Communities. A Climate Vulnerability Assessment was completed for the Town of Caroline, Natural Resource Inventories are in the works for the Town of Lansing and the Town of Hector, and Green House Gas Inventories are being started for the Village of Sherburne and the Town of Lansing.
Interested in how the Clean Energy Communities Team can help your community? Contact us today!
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Electric Bus Research Seeks to Utilize Extra-Fast Charging for Public Transit
Assistant professor wins $175,000 grant from NYSERDA and will partner with BAE Systems, C4V (Read More)
Interested in Reducing Food Waste?
Get Grants and Technical Assistance from NYSP2I (Read More)
Great News for C4V and their fast charging battery!
Charge CCCV reports EV battery charged in 6 min (Read More)
Challenges of Large-scale Solar Electric Siting in New York State: Part II, The Evolving Permitting Process
Research and Policy Brief Issue 91/July 2020 (Read More)
Local Action Framework: A Guide to Help Communities Achieve Energy and Environmental Goals
A step-by-step guide designed to help local and tribal governments plan, implement, and evaluate new or existing energy or environmental projects (Read More)
ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force Building Readiness
ASHRAE’s Building Readiness guidance provides practical information and checklists to help minimize the chance of spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (Read More)
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Updates on NYS Food Donation & Food Scraps Recycling Law
When: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 1:30 pm
Where: Webinar (Register Here)
Join us for new updates pertaining to the NYS Food Donation & Food Scraps Recycling Law and upcoming funding opportunities.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation will provide an update on the NYS Food Donation & Food Scraps Recycling law:
- An overview of the law and implementation timeline
- Requirements of designated food scraps generators
- Methodology to determine list of designated food scraps generators
- Regulatory Update
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Co-op Power's Annual Climate Justice Conference: Energizing a Just Transition
When: Saturday, October 3 and Sunday October 4, 2020, 10 am to 5 pm
Where: Virtual (Register Here)
Spend the weekend taking in the good news about the substantive progress toward racial justice, climate justice, and sweeping social change. Join this multi-class, multi-race, intergenerational, inclusive gender, Northeast regional cooperative moving the clock ahead.
Extended plenary sessions with inspiring speakers, lots of interaction and time for real integration of new learning. Dozens of participatory workshops on critically important themes. Opportunities for network building and mutual aid (More info here).
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Sixteenth Annual Symposium on Energy in the 21st Century: On the Road to a Net Zero Carbon Economy: Solar, Wind, Energy Storage, Integration into the Grid
When: October 26, 2020, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Where: Virtual (Register Here)
The award winning Symposium on Energy in the 21st Century each year explores the most current topics dealing with the future of renewable energy, and is recognized as one of the most important yearly conferences on renewable energy in New York and the Northeast. The speakers are cutting edge national and statewide experts.
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Re-Energize New York - Build Back Greener - ACE NY’s 14th Annual Membership and Fall Conference
When: October 27-28, time TBA
Where: Virtual (Registration TBA)
More information available here.
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Past Webinars
From Surviving to Thriving: How FlexTech Can Help Your Business Achieve Long-term Success
Watch Here
The Hastings Resolution: Decarbonizing Concrete through Local Government Action
Watch Here
Solsmart Webinar: Local Government Strategies for 100% Clean Energy
Watch Here
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