Ossining Earns Clean Energy Community Designation

From the Town of Ossining: The Town of Ossining today announced it has been designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), recognizing its leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy locally.

Announced by Governor Cuomo in August, the $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the State to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities. Clean Energy Communities advances the Governor’s Reforming the Energy (REV) strategy by demonstrating the importance of communities in helping New York reach its Clean Energy Standard of 50 percent of the state’s electricity coming from renewable energy resources by 2030.

The Town of Ossining received the designation for completing four of 10 high‐impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative. In addition, the designation gives the Town of Ossining an opportunity to apply for up to $50,000 toward additional clean energy projects, with no local cost share.

“We are so excited to be able to achieve the Clean Energy Community designation,” said Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg. “Environmental sustainability is a priority in the Town of Ossining, and I am proud of the strides the Town has made to decrease the community’s environmental footprint. In addition to completing the four high impact actions to qualify for the Clean Energy Community designation, we have also converted the Town’s street lights to LEDs, installed a charging station at a municipal building and applied for grants to install three more at Town parks, and the Town has been a member of Sustainable Westchester for several years, taking advantage of the many programs offered to its membership, including participating in the municipal solar buyers group and clean vehicle buyers group.

The Town has worked closely with our neighbor, the Village of Ossining, and community stakeholders, like the Green Ossining Committee, to put into practice these innovative approaches to sustainability, setting a model for residents and fellow municipalities to collectively reduce our impact on the environment. These actions are just a starting point for the Town, and we look forward to implementing future initiatives as well, including developing a clean energy project for our grant proposal to NYSERDA very soon.”

“We are proud to have assisted the Town of Ossining towards it Clean Energy Communities designation,” said Patricia Pomeroy, executive director of the Newburgh‐based Hudson Valley Regional Council. “Senior Planner and Clean Energy Communities Coordinator, Carla Castillo, looks forward to working closely with the Town as it develops its innovative grant proposal for submission to NYSERDA in the coming months.”

The efforts of the Town of Ossining to encourage environmental sustainability have been well received by the entire community. “I think Ossining should be really proud of the effort put behind each of these initiatives alone, as they each represent an effort to be more fiscally responsible, while providing a big nod toward the impact on our environment which we should not be ignoring ‐ especially now. The collective efforts over the past several years have now provided this incredible opportunity for grant money allowing us to pursue smarter pro‐environment initiatives,” said Suzie Ross, Chair of the Green Ossining committee.

“Congratulations to the Town of Ossining for demonstrating how local governments are providing the leadership to help their communities take actions that reduce their impact on the environment and lower their energy use,” said John B. Rhodes, President and CEO, NYSERDA. “As New York advances Governor Cuomo’s nation‐leading energy strategy, communities play a critical role in efforts to build a clean, resilient and affordable energy system.”

To earn the Clean Energy Community designation, the Town of Ossining completed the following high‐impact clean energy actions:
• Clean Fleets
• Community Choice Aggregation
• Energize New York Finance
• Benchmarking
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 with the option of receiving up to 25 percent paid in advance to support additional clean energy projects. At least two of the four actions must have been completed after August 1, 2016. NYSERDA is accepting applications for funding on a rolling basis through September 30, 2019 or until funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. Funds are being provided through the Clean Energy Fund and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Clean Energy Community Coordinators are also available at no charge to support cash‐ or resource‐strapped
communities to develop and prioritize clean energy goals; access easy‐to‐use resources such as guidance documents and case studies; and take advantage of available funding and technical assistance opportunities.

For more information on Clean Energy Communities, visit www.nyserda.ny.gov/cec. Local government officials or employees can find contact information for their respective coordinator here for assistance navigating the program.

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