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 -Ongoing Events
Sullivan County residents and business owners are invited to call or visit the Office of Sustainable Energy at the Government Center in Monticello for information about energy audits for homes and businesses and help with the application. Office hours - 9AM to 4PM Tuesdays and Thursdays, or call 807-0578 to set up an appointment.
-Upcoming Events
Green Jobs/ Green New York Information Session in Grahamsville
Saturday, May 12
from 10:00-12:00AM at the
Town Hall in Grahamsville
Join SASD and NYSERDA Green Jobs/Green NY program implementors RUPCO (Rural Ulster Preservation Company) at the Town Hall in Grahamsville as we explore the many creative options and funding resources open to us, as individuals and in our communities, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make our homes, businesses and municipal buildings more energy efficient.
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-Did You Know?
*The Empire State Building is upgrading its exterior lighting to LEDs as part of getting an energy efficiency upgrade partnering with Rocky Mountain Institute. 400 existing standard lamps are being changed out for 1,200 new LED fixtures. With computer control, millions of color shades will be available. The new LEDs are 7x brighter than the old units and will save 75% on the lighting costs. Though they cost a "few million dollars", the LED retrofit will pay for itself in 6 years with the energy saved and provide much more versatile lighting for this iconic building. Read the full New York Times article here.
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April/May 2012 News from SASD
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Community Owned Wind Takes Another Step Forward
A public meeting to gather input about four possible sites for a small wind farm feasibility study was held by SASD Sunday, May 6th as part of a USDA grant for a Community Owned Wind Study. Participants heard a presentation given by community wind developers Sustainable Energy Developments, who SASD hired as technical advisors, about what a community owned small wind farm would entail and how this feasibility study can help lead to community driven wind project development. The main part of the presentation was the description of four top sites for a small wind farm and a question and answer session with citizens. The sites discussed were Thunder Hill in Grahamsville, a ridge just north of Old Loomis Rd. in Liberty, a ridge just east of Rt. 17 near Tanzman Rd. in Liberty, and the Town of Liberty-owned Walnut Mountain park just across the road from Cornell Cooperative Extension and the BOCES main campus. A pdf of the presentation powerpoint is available for free, public download on the SASD website (https://sullivanalliance.org/community-owned-wind-study/), and video footage of both this and a February meeting will be available soon as well. SASD is working with SED to review the public feedback and select one site to move forward with a Small Wind Farm Feasibility Study. That decision will be made by May 18th. |
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Become a Climate Smart Community
The Sullivan County Office of Sustainable Energy has launched a campaign to enlist every town and village in Sullivan County to become a Climate Smart Community. In joining this initiative, towns pledge to take practical and effective action to reduce their carbon footprint by conserving energy and switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources; and to incorporate climate change impacts into their community planning efforts. Towns that develop Climate Actions Plans (CAP) and implement energy saving measures save money and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which provides tangible benefits to the environment. Another incentive for towns is that Climate Smart Community membership will increase their score when applying for regional sustainability funding. Towns start by signing the Climate Smart Community Pledge and forming a Climate Action group that will work collaboratively with SASD to collect energy use data for their municipal buildings and fleets. This data is used to calculate each town's carbon footprint and identify the most effective energy saving measures and develop projects for funding through the Regional Sustainability Planning Consortium. In a second phase of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), SASD and the town Climate Action group will collect energy use data from homes, businesses and vehicles in the community. This work will result in the development of specific projects for funding at the municipal and community level. The municipal and community greenhouse gas inventories and projects will be combined into a Climate Action Plan (CAP) document with assistance from the County Climate Action Plan Advisory Board and the Office of Sustainable Energy which is staffed by SASD. SASD will give a presentation in the Town of Neversink on Saturday, May 12, 10:00 - 12:00 AM. Join us at the Town Hall in Grahamsville as we explore the many creative options and funding resources open to us, as individuals and in our communities, to reduce greenhouse gas and make our homes, businesses and municipal buildings more energy efficient. |
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New York Solar Jobs Act
The New York State Assembly is promoting the New York Solar Jobs Act, Assembly Bill A9149 which would establish a robust Solar Renewable Energy Credit market for solar electric installations in New York State. This translates into cleaner energy, greener jobs and a better economic climate in New York. According to Assembly person Aileen Gunther's office, this Assembly bill is now in the Ways and Means Committee. What is lacking now is a "same as" bill in the State Senate.
Senator George D. Maziars is the chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee.
Senator John Bonacic cosponsored S4178, the 2011 "same as" bill.
We recommend that you contact these Senators and ask them to create a "same as" bill for the New York Solar jobs Act.
Senator George D. Maziars
Room 708, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2024
Email address: maziarz@nysenate.gov
Senator John Bonacic
District Office
201 Dolson Avenue Suite F
Middletown, NY 10940
Phone: (845) 344-3311
Email address: bonacic@nysenate.gov
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| www.SustainableSullivanCounty.org
Sullivan County has launched a sustainability website, built by Blue Springs Energy of Webster, NY. The site features a host of resources for Sullivan County homeowners, renters, business owners and municipalities looking for ways go green and to save money on their energy bills. Visitors to the site can tour green energy projects in Sullivan County, learn about grants and low interest loans for energy retrofits, find out about local contractors and vendors of green energy products and services, and sign up for a free e-mail newsletter.
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Sullivan County Merges Sustainability and Agriculture Committees
This decision by the Sullivan County legislature recognizes the vital importance of agriculture to Sullivan County's economic development and the many ways in which agriculture and sustainability intersect. Coordinated planning will help deliver more sustainability resources to the County's agricultural businesses, and reinforces the need to build sustainability planning into every sector of the County's economy. In addition to the joint committee, the County Legislature authorized the creation of an Agricultural Advisory Board and a Climate Action Plan Advisory Board to bring community expertise to these issues.
The Sustainability and Agriculture Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month, at 1:30pm in the legislative committee room, second floor, 100 N. St., Monticello, NY. Agendas for this and all other committees are posted on http://www.co.sullivan.ny.us/ under Departments>>County Legislature>>Monthly Committee Agendas.
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Prepared by:
Dick Riseling, Executive Director, SASD
Carol Roig,
Director of Community Outreach, SASD
James Hood, Sustainability Apprentice, SASD
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Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development: (845)-482-4764
Sullivan County Office of Sustainable Energy: (845)-807-0578 |
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