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While making the designation on Wednesday, May 23, NYSERDA recognized the village's leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy locally, according to Port Chester Mayor Richard “Fritz” Falanka's office.
First announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in August 2016, the $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the state by providing grants to eligible municipalities to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities.
Port Chester received the designation for completing 4 of 10 high-impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative. In addition, the designation gives Port Chester an opportunity to apply for up to $5,000 toward additional clean energy projects, with no local cost share.
Clean Energy Communities advances the Governor’s Reforming the Energy strategy by demonstrating the importance of communities in helping New York reach its Clean Energy Standard mandate of having half of the state’s electricity coming from renewable energy resources by 2030.
“This effort is part of a key strategy of the Village’s adopted Strategic Plan, which sets out a goal of systemically identifying and prioritizing areas of concern about the organization, environment, finances, emergency management and risk management” stated Christopher Steers, village vanager for Port Chester. “As we move forward, we will continually look for innovative, sustainable ways of operating our Village.”
To earn the Clean Energy Community designation, Port Chester completed the following high-impact clean energy actions:
- · Adopting a Unified Solar Permitting Process
- · Conducting Energy Use Benchmarking of Municipal Facilities
- · Converting Streetlights to LED (Light Emitting Diode)
- · Participating in Energy Code Enforcement Training
Cities, counties, towns and villages that complete at least four of 10 high-impact clean energy actions are designated Clean Energy Communities and are eligible to apply for funding of up to $250,000 with no local cost share and the option of receiving up to 25 percent paid in advance to support additional clean energy projects.
For more details about Clean Energy Communities, click here.
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