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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The Westchester County Board of Legislators is set to approve an act that would allow eligible municipalities to submit spending proposals that would use the Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds to implement “Green Community Program” projects for commercially owned properties.
The new legislation would finance QECB eligible projects like retrofitting windows, boilers, lighting, occupancy sensors, air conditioning, heating and ventilation as a means of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent in buildings and new constructions.
Other QECB eligible projects include energy reduction measures for mass transit, demonstrations of energy-related technologies, energy efficiency education campaigns and “Green Community” program grants.
In order to qualify, a municipality has to join Energy Improvement Corporation and the municipality has to ask the County for a sub-allocation. EIC would then collect the projects and bring the package to the County.
Proposed projects are to be prioritized as follows:
- Affordable housing
- Projects for not-for-profit corporations
- Entities that are for profit should any funding remain.
“This is a classic example of how federal, state and local governments partner with each other to solve problems and foster smart solutions,” Majority Leader Pete Harckham (D-North Salem) said in a statement. “Local municipalities around Westchester are still recovering from the economic downturn and major superstorms, so new energy-saving projects may be too costly for some budgets. Funding from Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds will help jumpstart these projects.”
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