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The Town of East Hampton’s Parks Department building has become the first municipality on Long Island to complete a “solar-plus-storage” project, according to a press release by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Thursday, April 20.
Its 165-panel system makes it the first building in the town to achieve the goal of net zero carbon emissions from electricity generation.
In the first year alone, the release reports, the system will offset nearly 110,000 pounds of carbon dioxide – which is equivalent to the emissions from a passenger vehicle driving over 125,000 miles.
100 percent of the building’s energy costs are expected to be offset with credits from the solar system.
“Not only will this project reduce carbon emissions and make the Town Hall campus more resilient,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said, “it is also estimated to save town taxpayers at least $10,000 a year between bill credits and reduced electrical costs.”
The system includes a 137-kilowatt-hour battery added at no cost to the town, which the solar panels will charge.
During periods of high demand, the battery will discharge any extra energy the grid needs.
The project supports East Hampton’s goal of community-wide renewable energy only in all sectors by the year 2030.
As for New York State, by 2030, it aims to procure 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
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