Green Guru Network

 

Last week NWEAC, SWEAC, and PACE Law hosted an unique and important conference about Solar permitting procedures and regulations. The long range plan is to standardize as much as possible to enable the industry to grow rapidly in our County with the consequent impact of reduced energy costs and GHG Emissions.

The following is a succinct summary of the day by Nina Orville, our SWEAC partner:

“The event went very well - we were very pleased by the attendance (quantity as well as who showed up) and the quality of the presentation.  We had at least 65 people in attendance, the significant majority of whom represented local governments in Westchester and surrounding counties as well as reps from utilities (Con Ed and NYPA) and solar installers.

The turn-out demonstrated the level of interest in Westchester County and the Mid-Hudson in preparing to welcome an expected surge in solar installations: 

· 44 people representing local governments.  5 counties represented, 25 municipalities total... 

· Very strong Westchester representation - 35 people representing a total of 20 local governments.

Lower prices for solar installations and strong support for solar from the state, as well as programs SWEAC and NWEAC are developing in Westchester are expected to result in a dramatic increase in solar installations locally. The role that local governments play in making this possible is significant – every installation must comply with their zoning, go through their permitting process and be inspected by them.  The organizers of the event want the jurisdictions to be able to support the opportunities that solar brings while making sure there isn’t undue burden for local governments.  Streamlining solar permitting is one important step in marrying those goals.

In addition, achieving consistency of processes is important as Westchester has 45 municipalities, each with their own zoning and permitting requirements for solar installations. We recognize that this lack of consistency creates inefficiencies as well. We learned that the municipalities are at a similar baseline - none have information about requirements for solar installations available on-line, none have check-lists for installers. The attendance shows the level of interest in addressing these opportunities for improvement.

NWEAC and SWEAC are planning to partner with others who can help bring additional assistance to Westchester and the Mid-Hudson region to move this process.”

Herb Oringel for NWEAC

The Municipal Solar Buyers Group has officially formed with 13 of NWEAC’s 15 towns ready to help make their public spaces more energy efficient. Members will now identify where solar technology can be developed and how the plans can be funded through government incentives and grants. By forming the MSBG, participating towns can benefit from NWEAC’s size and expertise.

The execution team is comprised of:   
Program Advisory Team:
–     Global Structured Finance Advisors
•      Leading boutique advisory firm specializing in tax oriented finance
•      Extensive experience advising renewable energy developers, traditional utilities and public power and municipal entities
•      Strong relations with “tax equity” investors who are active in renewable energy projects
•      FINRA AND MSRB registered broker-dealer company to provide financial advisory and raising of financing on behalf of municipalities
–     GP Renewables & Trading
•      GP is a multifaceted Energy Services company with over 15 years of combined experience that combines Consulting, Commodity Risk and Operations Management, and Project Development to provide a full array of services to clients in the North American wholesale, retail, and renewable power and natural gas industries.
•      GP provides load forecasting, risk management, ISO scheduling and settlement services to ESCOs with over 500,000 customers in 8 states with over 500 mw’s of average hourly load.
•      GP’s team has marketed, traded, procured fuel or scheduled power for plants with an excess of 600 MW of capacity and has done business in every ISO marketplace in North America.
–     NWEAC Staff
•      Will oversee management of Municipal Buyers Group and provide coordination between the Advisors and NWEAC’s Members
For an example of what the MSBG can accomplish, look to Somers High School, which has already begun to move toward sustainability using solar energy. A large solar array sits on the roof providing the school with over 62 megawatt hours of electricity not purchased from a utility company. The school applied for a NYSERDA grant in 2009 and was awarded $275,711.20, which the school used to install the 46.2kW photovoltaic system.

TIP: Did you know a fireplace flue pillow can help seal heat in your home and reduce your energy bill during winter months? Just install the inflatable balloon the damper level when you’re not using the fireplace and feel the difference.

Engage MidHudson, the Mid-Hudson Sustainability Plan’s public outreach and engagement website launches.

Engage MidHudson is an online platform where citizens and government of the Mid-Hudson Region share knowledge and brainstorm project ideas and initiatives that will help build a more sustainable region. Engage MidHudson is being developed in support of the Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Planning Project, led by the Mid-Hudson Sustainability Planning Consortium. The Consortium is steering the development of the Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Plan as part of the Cleaner, Greener Communities Program announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in his 2011 State of the State address.

The Program empowers regions to create more sustainable communities by funding smart development practices. The Consortium represents municipalities, counties, inter-municipal coalitions, and organizations from the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council’s seven counties. The Regional Sustainability Plan is intended to encourage a progressive approach for sustainable and economic development.

Engage MidHudson was built based on the belief that all Mid-Hudson communities are key partners in tackling challenges that affect our region. Active public engagement is critical to shaping a more sustainable future. Engage MidHudson is your opportunity to post innovative ideas and voice your opinions!

Visit www.engagemidhudson.com to register and help us spread the word!

The Energize New York program, piloted last year in the Town of Bedford, has officially developed the tools and best practices required for duplication in towns across Northern Westchester. Ossining and Somers were the first to formally launch and begin offering the home energy assessments and recommended upgrades in their own communities, initiating a stream of cost savings that the program looks forward to carrying throughout the rest of Northern Westchester and beyond!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: March 8, 2012

Attendees:

Dan Welsh (Vice Chair)Mike Gordon (Dir. Programs) 

Heather Flournoy

Frank Maricic

Herb Oringel (Chair)

Katherine Daniels (Secy)

Vince Salvatore

Maria Fields

Leo Wiegman

Steve Wolk

Victoria Gearity

Mark Reisman (Treasurer)

Jeremy Doxsee

Brian Kaminer

Michele Rudolph

LULA: Five week program starting on April 23. Seats are still available. Supervisorsshould send Herb names and addresses of additional candidates.

Grants: Herb met with Larry Simpson of Blue Springs, a consulting firm, to see if thecan help us find and manage grant opportunities.

Solar: Our RFP yielded 11 responses. Full scope responses due March 23.Respondents will visit municipalities to assess opportunities. State legislature isexpected to act soon on legislation that will open up opportunities for solar in NY -- bothresidential and commercial.

MicroGrid: Will be called an NWEAC project. Maria is looking for a foundation sponsor. Mike suggested putting out an RFP for an engineering firm. Maria and Mike will draft afour pager on the project for the Exec Committee.Mike Gordon announced that he has secured $25,000 commitments from two investors(Miles Slader and Jim Diamond) and that he is personally willing to invest an additional$25,000 -- for a total of $75,000 -- to cover the cost of installing smart meters for a pilot project to demonstrate the efficacy of a local micro-grid and eventually a municipalutility. If possible, the investors would like to see a return on their investment of approximately 18%. Mike would like this to be an NWEAC project but is concerned
that his participation might create the appearance of a conflict of interest since he isNWEAC’s Director of Programs.

The committee discussed the potential conflict andhow it might be managed. One idea was to give NWEAC towns a mechanism for taking over Mike’s interest once he has recouped his investment. Another idea was to lookfor a private equity company to invest (or offer the opportunity for others to invest) so Mike does not have to. A third idea was to form a separate corporation to manage the project. Katherine will do some legal research on the potential conflict and report back at the next meeting. If possible, Mike wants to announce the pilot program at the March29th conference in Ossining.

CCA: Maria reported she is in the process of evaluating the impact of a CCA policy inour area. She is using Bedford for the basis of her work and will get an actual quotefrom the energy supplier on the cost of cleaner energy. The RFQ will go out tomorrow using Bedford’s KW hour assessment. Maria also reported that Dan Tishman (NDRC) is very interested in CCA. He has strong contacts within the Cuomo administration thatwill be helpful if we decide to push for legislation. Mike Gordon is writing a paper for Kate Burk on CCA and other energy issues – everything he would like to see in state energy policy.
Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Planning Process: NYSERDA has offered $1million to set up a process to integrate seven counties into one program. The directors will be at our March 29 conference. We will meet with them at 3:00 in the Ossining Village conference room.

March 29 Conference: Each person on the call was asked to send an invite to 15 people. Maria and Mike will send out an invite link.

Quarterly summary: Proposed as means to keep the Supervisors/Mayors informed of NWEAC activities. (To be scheduled)
Adjourned: 6:03 pm

Why is energy such an important driver in economic development?
The Mid-Hudson region’s households spend $2.4 billion on utilities per year ($3,000 for space heating and appliances per household per year). If just 5% savings were achieved through common energy upgrades, the residential sector alone would save $119 million annually.*

Every business sector in the Mid-Hudson Region needs energy and incurs energy-related expenses. Operational or mechanical inefficiencies exist in every sector of commerce. Therefore, each sector has significant energy savings opportunities. Energy solutions have powerful cross-cutting benefits for economic development and can often be funded out of net savings realized–making available operating capital for staff and business reinvestment. In a typical community, the business sector’s aggregate utility expenses are about two-thirds that of the aggregate residential sector. On that basis, the Mid-Hudson region’s businesses may spend as much as $1.6 billion on utilities per year, yielding $80 million in easily achievable savings to reinvest.  In short, energy efficiency alone could make available $220 million per year or more in private capital for job retention and creation in our seven counties.
Read the Summary: EnergySolutions_Mid-Hudson_RoadMap_2011_10_26_Summary.

On Monday October 24, the Town of Bedford will receive the American Jewish Committee Westchester Region’s prestigious Energy Independence Award   in recognition of its pioneering work in Energy Efficiency and Sustainability.  The award will be presented during AJC’s  third annual Energy Independence Day  which will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Sons of Israel, 1666 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor.

Among other things, the Town of Bedford is a founding member of NWEAC (the Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium).  NWEAC’s Energize project, funded with Grants from DOE and NYSERDA, started in 2010 as a pilot program and is designed to encourage homeowners to have their homes assessed for energy efficiency and to provide funding to upgrade homes at the lowest possible cost. Over the next several months, Energize will be introduced to no less than 14 municipalities in northern Westchester.  A collaboration that in and of itself deserves mention if not accolades.

AJC’s Energy Independence Award  is a feature of an event which brings together people of all stripes who believe that we must find ways to free ourselves of our dependence on oil.    Yossie Hollander, a well-known and highly successful Israeli / American high tech entrepreneur will be the keynote speaker at.  Mr. Hollander will be discussing  components of a plan developed by the Israeli government with assistance from the Israeli Institute of Economic Planning (which he chairs) to develop an Oil Alternative Economy. The plan was rolled out by the Israeli government this past February and has been compared to the highly touted Israeli high tech revolution which was engineered by the  Israeli government, academia and private business in the early 1990s.  Additionally, Mr. Hollander will discuss ways in which America can release the grip of foreign oil.

The event is free of charge. Teens and college students are encouraged to attend.