Today Congressman Maffei and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the Department of Energy has delivered nearly $63 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the State of New York to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This Recovery Act funding will play an important role in lowering energy use and reducing carbon pollution across the Empire State. A breakdown of the funding is below.
Secretary Chu and Congressman Maffei made the announcement following a tour of renewable energy projects at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse (SUNY-ESF). While in Syracuse, Secretary Chu also toured Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE).
Representative Maffei said: “I am honored to have Secretary Chu here in Syracuse and proud to be able to show him all the innovative work of our universities and the SyracuseCoE. The announcement that Syracuse will receive more than $1.4 million for Energy Efficiency programs is another example of what the Recovery Act is directly doing for Syracuse and Central New York. The Recovery Act has saved jobs for school teachers, funded more cops for our streets, provided tax cuts for working families and extended unemployment benefits for those in need. Energy Efficiency programs will provide a boost for our economy, and are smart long term investments.”
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said: “States and local communities are the engines of our economy and the laboratories of innovation. This funding will provide the state New York the resources to put in place innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that will create jobs across the state, while reducing carbon pollution and helping to shift how America uses energy.”
The following funding was announced today:
Syracuse Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) - Awarded $1,444,500
Syracuse will receive $1,444,500 in Recovery Act EECBG funds to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lowering the city’s energy costs, while creating local green jobs. Specifically, funds will be used to perform an energy retrofit of the City Hall Commons (CHC), including the installation of three high-efficiency heating and air conditioning units and the replacement of the building’s windows and doors. The city will also install solar panels on the CHC, which will generate clean renewable electricity for daily operations. Additional EECBG funds will be put toward several energy efficiency upgrades across the Syracuse community.
At the Southwest Community Center, the Syracuse Fire Department Training Facility, Meacham Ice Rink, and Sunnycrest, McChesney, and Burnet Parks, inefficient existing light fixtures will be replaced with high-efficiency fixtures, reducing energy use while actually increasing lighting levels. Three heavily used parking garages will also be retrofitted with new control systems line conditioners, which will reduce excess energy use. Based on a recent energy audit, these upgrades at the Harrison St., Warren St. and Washington St. garages will reduce energy costs by 20-35 percent.
Remaining EECBG funds will enable Syracuse to establish an Office of Conservation, Sustainability, and Energy Initiatives. Overall, these Recovery Act-funded activities are expected to result in substantial energy and cost savings for the City of Syracuse.
State Energy Program Funding - Awarded $61,555,000
The Department of Energy had previously awarded the first 50 percent of New York’s State Energy Program (SEP) funding. The remaining 50 percent announced today was delivered to the state after aggressive oversight, reporting, and accountability measures were put in place.
New York will direct its State Energy Program Recovery Act funding to programs that will accelerate the introduction of alternative-fuel vehicles into New York communities, boost the energy efficiency of buildings across the state, increase compliance with the state’s energy codes, and expand the use of solar power.
The Clean Fleet program will provide funding for eligible entities - such as cities, counties, public school districts, public colleges and universities and others - to accelerate the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles in their fleets. Recovery Act funding will also provide financial support for energy efficiency and retrofit projects in the municipal, K-12 public schools, public university, hospital, and not-for-profit sectors.
A third project aims to achieve at least 90 percent compliance in the commercial and residential sectors for a new statewide Energy Code. With Recovery Act funding, the state will offer technical assistance and local compliance support to local municipal officials, as well as those professions who work closely with energy code buildings, such as architects, engineers, and home builders. Finally, New York will provide SEP funding to encourage installation of a range of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal systems across the state, and to provide training opportunities for installers. New York has now received its entire Recovery Act allocation of $123,110,000.
View a map of Recovery Act Spending in New York's 25th Congressional District here.
