Courtesy photo: NYSERDA
The Town of Southold has been designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, recognizing the town’s leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy locally. Supervisor Scott Russell announced the recognition during his ‘State of the Town’ speech last week.
The $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the state in implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities, the town said in a press release Friday. Through the free technical support offered by Clean Energy Communities coordinators, Southold was able to take advantage of assistance provided by staff at Community Development Corporation of Long Island at no cost to the local government.
Clean Energy Communities coordinators are available to help local leaders to:
- develop and prioritize clean energy goals;
- access guidance resources such as templates for legislation, procurement, and contracts; and
- take advantage of available funding and technical assistance opportunities
The Town of Southold received the designation after completing four of 10 high-impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative, according to the release. In addition, the designation gives the town an opportunity to apply for up to $100,000 toward additional clean energy projects, with no local cost share.
To earn the Clean Energy Community designation, the town completed the following high-impact clean energy actions:
- adopted the unified solar permit, a standardized permit application designed to streamline the approval process for installing solar in the community.
- installed electric vehicle charging stations at Town Hall, the Peconic Community School, and the Mattituck Human Resource Center. In addition, the town owns a Nissan Leaf as part of the town’s fleet.
- established a local law to benchmark energy use of municipal buildings.
- trained town code compliance officers in the best practices in energy code enforcement, including collaborative plans reviews and joint on-site inspections of local construction projects.
“We are proud to be the first small municipality on Long Island to earn the Clean Energy Community designation,” Russell said. “These initiatives not only help the environment, but they also save taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“The Town of Southold is committed to sustainable leadership and we are excited to pursue additional clean energy projects with the grant money awarded through the Clean Energy Communities program.”
Marianne Garvin, president and CEO of Community Development Corporation of Long Island said her organization has been involved in weatherization and green initiatives for more than 25 years.
“We are pleased to have been able to assist the Town of Southold in qualifying for this important designation through our work as a subcontractor under NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program, and we look forward to assisting other municipalities in achieving this milestone,” Garvin said. “Southold’s proactive environmental policies will benefit future generations.”
For more information on Clean Energy Communities, visit www.nyserda.ny.gov/cec.
