Southern Tier West: Town of Humphrey

High Impact Actions Completed (600 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Fleets, Energy Code Enforcement Training, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions include:

Terry Fuller, code enforcement officer; Carrie Childs, supervisor; Mary Weber, town clerk

The impetus for the Town of Humphrey to participate in Clean Energy Communities came from Town Supervisor Carrie Childs and Town Board, says Terry Fuller, Code Enforcement Officer, who has spearheaded implementation. "It was a challenge but the benefits to date are far reaching. The Town was able to get a $50,000.00 grant and NYSERDA approved us installing a ground mount solar system. This system has saved the town hundreds of dollars and as time goes on thousands of dollars."

The Town has had months of no electric bills and has been able to sell back to National Grid a few times as well, says Fuller. "This savings allowed the Town to research and invest in a geothermal heat system, furthering our understanding of clean energy. The town really continues to be an example of how clean energy can benefit consumers in multiple ways. The money saved now with the solar system and once the geothermal system is paid off can go towards other upgrades needed by the Town."

"My advice to other communities, especially small rural towns, is to go for it. The process can be challenging to get started but the benefits are long term - and what a way to set a positive example for the townspeople of rural communities."

Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board

Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Johnathon Mayr, GISP jmayr@southerntierwest.org

4039 Route 219, Suite 200, Salamanca, NY 14779

(716)-945-5301 ext. 2232

Western New York: Town of Grand Island

High Impact Actions Completed (1300 points earned):

Benchmarking and Advanced Reporting, Climate Smart Communities Bronze Certification, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions:

Supervisor John Whitney, Town Council members Jennifer Baney and Thomas Digati, Debbie Whalen, Michelle Lockett.

The Town of Grand Island achieved designation in the first round of the program, and since the launch of the Leadership Round has been taking on a number of new initiatives, earning Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Bronze Certification.

Councilwoman Jennifer Baney notes that the Town achieved CSC in just six months, and to do that, everyone had to help. Her advice: “Don’t go it alone. Buy-in comes from relationships and not overloading people. We really engaged with the University of Buffalo Regional Institute and had conversations with a number of regional consultants. We made a documentation plan and were always respectful of town employee time constraints and needs. When you make mistakes, don’t throw in the towel. Pivot to find success.”

Western New York Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Jason Kulaszewski jasonkul@buffalo.edu

University at Buffalo Regional Institute

77 Goodell Street, Suite 302, Buffalo, NY 14203

(716) 878-2441

Finger Lakes: Village of Perry

High Impact Actions Completed (800 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Fleets, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions:

Mayor Rick Hauser; Samantha Pierce, administrator

"Our role as a model community is very important to me," says Mayor Hauser. "The Village of Perry needs to have a resilient posture for the long term. To accomplish this, we are aiming for 1900 CEC points." The Village is almost finished with LED streetlight conversion and has just signed on to the Community Solar project. Hauser notes, "We had expected it to be worth a small incremental increase in costs, but it will actually reduce cost by 10%. We are also adapting a Tesla vehicle for the police department to reduce gas costs and idling losses, which we’ve calculated will pay or itself in 18 to 24 months. In the meantime, we’re looking into converting to heat pump systems. As a small town, we feel we can use common sense to get things done and set an example to influence others.

"Our energy champions are all the members of the Village Board as well as Samantha Pierce, the village administrator," says Mayor Hauser.

Finger Lakes Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Rob Richardson, rrichardson@gflrpc.org

Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council

50 West Main Street, Suite 8107 Rochester, New York 14614

(585) 454-0190 x21

Capital District: Village of Athens

High Impact Actions (3,200 points earned):

Benchmarking, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, NYStretch Energy Code, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions include:

Mayor Amy Serrago, Josh Lipsman, M.D., Village of Athens Board of Trustees

When Clean Energy Communities launched, "we jumped on it," said Dr. Josh Lipsman, Village of Athens Trustee. The Village became a CEC in 2019, starting with Benchmarking, then LED Streetlights, Unified Solar Permit and Energy Code Enforcement Training. The Village was appointed as Greene County’s first Climate Smart Community, implementing a number of programs and earning Bronze level certification, which led to increased CEC points. In addition, the Village earned $5,000 for 10 signups for the Community Solar campaign, another $5,000 for passing NYS Stretch Energy Code, and $10,000 for getting to 3,000 points. Leadership is provided by an eight-person committee led by Mayor Amy Serrago. Dr. Lipsman and others devote significant time to staying abreast of both Clean Energy Communities and Climate Smart Communities opportunities.

Capital District Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Tara Donadio Tara.Donadio@cdrpc.org

Haley Balcanoff Haley.Balcanoff@cdrpc.org

Capital District Regional Planning Commission

One Park Place,

Suite 102, Albany, NY 12203-2626

(518) 453-0850

Mid-Hudson: Town of Marbletown

High Impact Actions Completed (6,200 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns, Community Choice Aggregation, LED Street Lights, NYStretch Energy Code, PACE Financing, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions Include:

Supervisor Rich Parete, Environmental Conservation Commission Chair Tom Konrad

Located in Ulster County, the Town of Marbletown has received 3,000 and 4,000 Point-Based Grants as well as an Action Grant for adopting NYStretch. The Town has received approval from NYSERDA to spend all grants on a new Crosstrek Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The Town is looking forward to completing its next CEC action -- Community Choice Aggregation: Opt-Out Community Distributed Generation. According to Tom Konrad, chair of the Marbletown Environmental Conservation Commission, “Opt-out community solar is the most important thing we are pursuing, and we were the first Hudson Valley town to pass the resolution to move forward with that program."

Mid-Hudson Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Carla Castillo, ccastillo@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Eleanor Peck, epeck@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Kat Carroll, kcarroll@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Hudson Valley Regional Council

3 Washington Center, Newburgh, NY 12550

(845) 564-4075

Mohawk Valley: Town of Hartwick

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

Benchmarking, Community Campaigns, LED Street Lights

Energy Champions include:

Town Supervisor Robert O'Brien and Hartwick Conservation Advisory Committee members Martha Clarvoe, Janet Williammee

The Town of Hartwick is dedicated to clean energy and sustainability, and officials are seeking to go above and beyond the Clean Energy Communities and Climate Smart Communities programs to make changes. The Town recently received its CEC Designation and put in a grant application to be used for the Hartwick Conservation Advisory Committee Fund to complete community energy efficiency projects such as a Flex Tech Audit for the Highway buildings and Town Hall, LED lighting in the Community Center and Highway Building, and recycling bins in the community park.

"It’s going to generate energy savings, cost savings, GHG emission reduction, and lead to other clean energy projects for our community," says Town Supervisor Robert O'Brien. “The Town of Hartwick is grateful to NYSERDA for this recognition and the related grant opportunity. The Town thanks the Hartwick Conservation Advisory Committee and Town staff and officials for doing the hard work that has brought us the many benefits of being a Clean Energy Community,” says O'Brien..

Mohawk Valley Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Amanda Kaier akaier@mvedd.org

Amy Wyant awyant@mvedd.org

Mohawk Valley Economic Development District

26 W Main St, Mohawk, NY 13407

(315) 866-4671, (315) 525-1312

North Country: Village of Saranac Lake

High Impact Actions Completed (3,100 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 Include:

Jamie Konkoski, Community Development Director

The Clean Energy Communities program has both inspired and provided funding for the Village of Saranac Lake to become a leader for clean energy in the North Country. During the first round of CEC, the Village completed five high impact actions that made it eligible for a $50,000 grant, which was used to pay National Grid to convert village cobrahead and decorative street lights to LEDs, as well as to purchase a RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

In 2018, the Village established a Climate Smart Communities task force composed of residents, area college representatives and local high school students. Their efforts resulted in the village earning CSC Bronze certification in September 2020. Guided by the task force, the Village board voted to adopt Community Choice Aggregation legislation in September, 2021. Most recently, the task force is considering community campaigns to engage residents with local clean energy opportunities.

North Country Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Nancy Bernstein nbernstein@adirondack.org

Matt Price mprice@adirondack.org

Adirondack North Country Association

67 Main Street, Suite 201, Saranac Lake, NY 12983

Long Island: Town of Southampton

High Impact Actions Completed (3,700 points earned):

Clean Fleets, Clean Heating and Cooling Demo, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, NYStretch Energy Code, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions Include:

Michelangelo (Mike) Lieberman, Environmental Planner; Councilman John Bouvier; Deputy Supervisor Frank Zappone; Janice Scherer, Town Planning and Development Administrator; and Thomas Houghton, Acting Town Engineer

The Town of Southampton is a clean energy leader in Long Island, having already earned 3,700 points, The Town is also active in Climate Smart Communities.

According to Mike Lieberman, “When elected officials pursue these programs, it becomes a behavioral commitment. They slowly create good habits to pursue and build continuity. There have been challenges, including staffing time, the complexity of action items, and the fact that many aren’t available to Long Island towns because the Island is not required to pay into certain state funding programs, “We had to come up with innovative ways to adopt the ideas without undoing anything we’ve already done. We’ve made this a real team effort."

He counsels other towns contemplating CEC participation, "Start with the action items and go from there. It's more like painting a picture than following a blueprint; as you complete energy saving actions, such as EV charging stations, solar, etc., it goes from abstract to more focused and intentional."

Long Island Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Sarah Oral PE, LEED AP BD+C SOral@cameronengineering.com

Associate, Civil Engineering and Planning

Cameron Engineering & Associates, LLP

177 Crossways Park Drive Woodbury, NY 11797

(516) 224-5237

Central New York: Village of Tully

High Impact Actions Completed (2,400 points earned):

Benchmarking - Municipal Buildings, Benchmarking - Advanced Reporting, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit, Energy Code Training, NYStretch Energy Code

Energy Champions Include:

Tully Village Trustee Kathy Vernay

The Village of Tully recently became the first community in Central NY to pass NYStretch, and Village officials continue to make progress toward their clean energy goals. According to Village Trustee Kathy Vernay, “Community Solar panels will go up soon in two sites in Tully. We expect to be online in the next six months. Participation in the program is already paying off. LED Street lights alone are saving on the GHG we’re emitting.” The Village has also received a $5,000 grant for adopting the NYStrech Energy Code, which they plan to use to better insulate their wastewater treatment building.

Ms. Vernay credits former Mayor Mayor Melissa Flint-Morgan for setting the CEC ball in motion, furthering work done by Beth Greenwood, the mayor before her. Now it’s being administered by the current mayor, Erin Goodfellow. “We are fortunate to have a well-educated community, with board members who are interested in the environmental impact of energy use,” Ms. Vernay says. “For other communities considering doing this, there is a lot of ‘low-hanging fruit’ to get you started – things like solar permitting and LED lighting.”

Central NY Clean Energy Communities Coordinator:

Amanda Mazzoni, Principal Planner amazzoni@cnyrpdb.org

Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board

126 North Salina Street, Suite 200, Syracuse, NY 13202

(315) 422-8276

Southern Tier: City of Binghamton

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

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

Energy Champions Include:

Juliet Berling, Director of Planning, Mayor Jared Brown, former Mayor Rich David

According to Juliet Berling, having community input helped Binghamton focus on the best use for its CEC funding. “We have a climate action plan, Two of our major action items were to cut energy consumption and GHG emissions, which we did via renewable energy. It may not be glamorous but energy conservation should always be the first step."

“We were awarded $250,000 in the first round and that allowed us to award about 36 residential and 10 commercial projects, with $128,000 in homeowner matches, and $481,000 in commercial matches," she noted. Projects included simple projects like replacing furnaces, windows and storm doors, and replacing window units with Central A/C. We provided seed money for two churches that re-did their envelope and added heat pumps. Other buildings went solar.

“It meant so much to the community to that we were able to help people update their homes, save them money and reduce impacts to the environment. We also used some funding to buy two all-electric vehicles for the city fleet. No maintenance budget needed anymore!"

Southern Tier Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Todd Knobbe, tk656@cornell.edu

Theodora Greene Weatherby, tgw43@cornell.edu

Gina Cassidy, rcc268@cornell.edu

(607) 272-2292

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County

615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850

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