Clean Energy Community News

High Impact Actions Completed (1,300  points earned):

Clean Fleets, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights

Energy Champions 

The City's Climate Task Force members include Chairperson Rachelle Armstrong and City Council members Elizabeth Gibbs and Jennifer Tallon. "The Task Force is a robust, and ambitious group of volunteers with members from all City Wards that works to promote new programs and  educate City staff and residents in an effort to move CEC and Climate Smart Communities (CSC) initiatives forward," says Plattsburgh Senior Planner Elisha Bartlett.

The Climate Task Force’s focus and commitment has allowed the City to accumulate enough points to submit for CSC bronze status six months ahead of the original target set in 2019.

The Mayor’s Office has acted as the conduit for the Task Force to link with existing resources and priorities, while specific departments have taken the lead for high impact action items such as the Municipal Lighting District converting City street lights to LED, Public Works crews installing heat pumps in City Hall, the Community Development Department’s year-long coordination for thermal window replacements in City Hall, the Finance department’s supplying inventory data for Fleet Vehicle and Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and the Fire Department for being the Food Waste Champions in the roll out of the Food Waste Reduction Program, among others.

"The Task Force lives up to their name! The most challenging aspect of this program has been to keep pace with this ambitious group," Ms. Barlett notes. "We just need to maintain the momentum while balancing our time and focus with all other high priority projects the City has in the works to build the most resilient future we can for our residents," says Ms. Bartlett.▪️      

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Nancy Bernstein, Shawnea Hull

High Impact Actions Completed (3,300 points earned): Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit.

Energy Champions 

Mayor Mark Olson, Village Trustees and the Renewable Fayetteville Committee. The Mayor reports the Village has a list of accomplishments that include: completion of GHG Inventories for both local government and the community, completion of a Climate Action Plan, construction of an EV charging station; purchase of a plug-in hybrid for the Codes officer, LED street light conversion, conversion of ornamental lights to LED; and updating the fire station lights to LEDs. Additionally, the Village conducted a community campaign to encourage residents to adopt renewable energy, achieved Bronze Climate Smart Communities status, hosted an Earth Fest 2023 at a Village park in partnership with the Town of Manlius.

"We are working to achieve greater participation by residents," says Mayor Olson. "It, takes time and we walk before we run." The best part of the CEC/CSC work, he notes, is  "creating the financial bridge to a greener village."▪️

High Impact Actions (HIAs) Completed (7,500 points earned): 

Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, Clean Heating and Cooling Demo, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns, Community Choice Aggregation, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, NYStretch Energy Code, PACE Financing.

Energy Champions include:

Alice Walsh Green, Clean Energy Communities/Climate Smart Communities Coordinator reports: John Kiefer, Town of Dryden CS/CEC Task Force member, led town efforts to secure a contract for 100% renewables for town buildings, pass the NYS Stretch Code, and plan a clean energy upgrade for town DPW office building. Marie McRae and Joe Wilson, Town of Dryden CS/CEC Task Force members, led the successful town-wide Clean Heating and Cooling Campaign; Chuck Geisler, Dryden CS/CEC Task Force member, spearheaded efforts to study opportunities to achieve energy efficiency and affordability in mobile home parks; Loren Sparling, former Dryden Town Board liaison to the CS/CEC Task Force, gained unanimous approval from the Town Board for all proposed CEC HIAs 2020-23; Ray Burger, Dryden Planning Director, facilitated planning for all approved HIAs 2018-present; Ella Bormet, Clean Energy Planning intern, assisted with all CEC data management; Kate Lee and McKenna Crocker, CS/CEC task force student representatives, led efforts to install an EV charger at their high school, study school district energy sources, and led student efforts to support and document town HIAs. ▪️

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Kristina Zill, Michael Brown

Southern Tier Clean Energy Communities: 

Kristina Zill, Delaware County CEC Coordinator, klz8@cornell.edu

Michael Brown, CEC Coordinator for Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tioga Counties, msb65@cornell.edu

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County

615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850

(607) 272-2292 x 284  www.ccetompkins.org/

High Impact Actions Completed (3,300 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, County Hosted Training, LED Street Lights, PACE Financing

Energy Champions

Joe Reed, Building Maintenance Supervisor, reports that Winona Flynn, County Administrator, has been a "big supporter of all the CEC programs, while Jeff Ayers, County Planner, has done the work for the latest CEC high-impact actions for trainings completed by the County. The Yates County Legislature has also supported all the CEC programs that the County has completed."

Recently, the Genesee Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council hosted a 9 County-Hosted Training (9CHT) event as part of the CEC Program. By meeting the attendance threshold for all five trainings, Yates County surpassed the  3,000-point threshold and earned a match-free $10,000 CEC Grant. For each of the 9CHT offerings where the attendance requirements where met, the County received credit for a completed CEC High Impact Action. Yates County completed all five: Overview of Model Solar Energy Law, Solar PV Permitting & Inspection, Battery Energy Storage for First Responders, Overview of the Model Battery Energy Storage System Law, and Clean Energy and Your Comprehensive Plan. Each training needed to be attended by 35% of the municipalities in Yates County for the County to earn credit. The 1,500 points earned through 9CHT event put the County at 3,300 CEC high-impact achievement points. The County plans to use this grant funding to offset the cost of installing EV Charging Stations at the new County Highway Department Building.▪️

High Impact Actions (700 points earned)

Bench-marking - municipal resolution; Benchmarking - advanced reporting; Energy Code Enforcement Training; Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions include:

Lydia Davis, Village Trustee and Chair, Climate Smart Communities Committee; Mitch Levinn, Climate Smart Committee member and former mayor, Judith and Frederik Rusch and Susan Laier, Climate Smart Committee members

As residents of one of the smallest New York municipalities, "we don't have the numbers in our committee to achieve many things at once," says Lydia Davis.. "The challenge is that our village does not have our own municipal buildings or vehicles, so we must adapt creatively to some of the requirements for earning points. It is a great morale booster to be doing this work; no matter how slowly we progress. We know that with each step forward we are doing what we can to combat the dangers of climate change, protect our community, and educate our fellow villagers about the importance of energy conservation. This saves us from feelings of despair that we might have otherwise."

Ms. Davis's advice: "Gather like-minded people who will work well together; start with the simplest, most accessible actions; proceed at your own pace without becoming impatient. Relish the feeling that you are doing something valuable!" The Village recently hosted a speaker on reducing lawn sizes, "and we are planning to install bike racks in as many sites in the village as possible, starting at the new park we are developing," Ms. Davis says.▪️

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Tara Donadio, Haley Balcanoff, Josh Dranoff

High Impact Actions Completed (3,100 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns and PACE Financing.

Energy Champions

In 2016, Ulster County became the first Energy Smart Community in New York State. And in early 2023, as her first executive order after taking office, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger directed the County Government to align the County's climate and energy actions with the NYS Climate Act. This includes strengthening the County's goals, speeding up implementation timelines, and being more aggressive to serve low to moderate income residents by taking advantage of state programs and incentives related to energy use reduction.

"We are a community full of energy champions!," says Europa McGovern, deputy director, Ulster County Department of the Environment. The County Legislature is a strong supporter of this work, Ms. McGovern says, and the County departments of Environment, Planning and Public Works coordinate to advance this initiative.

Key CEC benefits include continued access to NYSERDA grant funding to complete additional clean energy actions, and the CEC Program’s alignment with the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program, Ms. McGovern says. Every CEC action the County completes counts as a CSC Program action, and helps the County works toward its goal of achieving gold-level CSC certification by 2025.▪️

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Carla Castillo, Eleanor Peck, Mary Lambert

High Impact Actions Completed   (2,100 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Fleets, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights

Energy Champions include:

Dan Kieferbach, consultant; Connie Perry (Inlet Area Community Task Force); Bonnie Baker (Town of Webb Supervisor); Barb Green, Tom Greco, Mike Ross, Kurt Gardner (Town of Webb Board Members), Nancy Russell (Town Clerk)

The Town of Webb has found there are challenges inherent in participating in the Clean Energy Communities program. These include, "Our location and geography as a forest town that's far from everything--infrastructure, resources--and a general resistance to change," says consultant Dan Kierferbach.  The best part; says Mr. Kieferbach, is that "it is a fulfilling pursuit unto itself that is internally rewarding."

It's important to start small and get the ball rolling today, in the Town's view. "Don't get too caught up in the future barriers or sticking-points, just accomplish what you can and then move to the next logical step and it all just becomes easier," says Mr. Kieferbach. Be sure to "define and separate your goals for clean energy conversion and climate change adaptation.  Although related, these different goal sets can sometimes get interlocked in unhelpful ways, so be sure to be clear on what your goals are for each of these independently."▪️

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Amanda Kaier, Amy Wyant

High Impact Actions Completed (1,000 points earned): 

Clean Fleets, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit.

Energy Champions Include:

Supervisor Edward P. Romaine

Peter E. Fountaine, Principal Environmental Analyst

The Town of Brookhaven is one of the largest in New York State, but their leadership offers advice that should resonate for all municipalities: "The best part of being a Clean Energy Community is investing in energy alternatives to create a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for community members and also for future generations to come," notes Peter Fountaine. However, staffing has been the most challenging part, Fountaine adds,

"Although it may seem like a daunting task, becoming a Clean Energy Community aids municipalities in saving both energy and money over time. Participating shows leadership in the green initiatives and demonstrates that the township cares about the future of the community and the environment," says Fountaine.▪️

Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Sarah Oral, David Tepper, Andrew Manitt