Village may quality for $100,000 NYSERDA grant

By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

The village of Minoa may soon be one of two communities in New York state to qualify for a $100,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) by taking action on four items to qualify for the Clean Energy Communities program.

The Clean Energy Communities program was started as a way to move state municipalities toward more energy efficient technologies, such as solar power, LED lightings and alternative fuel vehicles. There are a total of 10 “high impact items” municipalities are encouraged to complete to become designated as a Clean Energy Community.

Currently, NYSERDA is offering the first two communities in New York that complete four out of the 10 High Impact Items a chance to apply for two $100,000 grants to go toward future clean energy projects.

Mayor Bill Brazill said the positive outcomes of this program are two-fold — it brings Minoa up to date with new energy technology and brings cost-savings to both the village and residents.

“When I came into office, one of my goals was to continue to find ways to save money and be energy efficient. When I saw this Clean Energy Communities program, I jumped on it because it fit well with what we were trying to do,” said Brazill.

Of the 10 items, Minoa has already completed three: adopting a benchmarking policy that reports the energy use of municipal buildings; deploying alternative fuel vehicles; and adopting a unified solar permit.

Brazill said the village is nearly complete with the fourth item — converting street lights to energy efficient LED lights. The Minoa Village Board has already approved the installation by National Grid to convert 198 street lights in the village with LED lights. This installation was planned to have occurred already, but Brazill said the shipment of the items has been delayed. There are about 70 ornamental street lights that will not be converted to LED at this time, but the village plans to make the switch as funds are available, said Brazill.

The initial investment to install these LED lights will cost about $9,300, but brings an annual cost savings of $3,800. Over the lifetime of a typical LED light, 25 years, the village has the opportunity to save $96,000 just by switching to LED lighting, said Brazill.

In addition, Minoa is working toward completing a fifth item on the high impact action items list — becoming involved in the Community Choice Aggregation program. CCA allows local governments a model for shared energy purchasing, which can lower energy costs for residents in their municipality.

Clean energy is not something new to Minoa — in June 2015, a ribbon cutting was held for the Minoa Cleanwater Educational Research Facility (CERF) to signify the completion of a fuel-producing biodigester and a modified constructed wetland capable of reducing pharmaceutical impacts in wastewater.

Being up to date with new energy technologies is a huge benefit to residents, said Brazill, because the CERF plant provides several services that other municipalities may want to use to become more energy efficient, but not have the resources for. Minoa can contract with them for these services and increase village revenue.

“We’re always looking for ways to bring more money into the village,” said Brazill. “And with the current climate and talk of merging government, I think it’s important to show that we’re already doing this and that a small village is able to do these type of things.”

To learn more about the Clean Energy Communities program by NYSERDA, go to nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/Clean-Energy-Communities.