The Newfield Garden Apartments, which serves elderly and disabled individuals, has undergone an energy efficiency upgrade and remodeling this year. Better Housing for Tompkins County, which owns the apartments, utilized a grant for over $1.6 million from the New York State Division of Housing and other groups to do the renovations. Contractors installed central water heating and energy-efficient lighting. They also replaced all appliances with Energy Star rated models.
2010 Awardees
NYSEG Energy Efficiency Programs
Mar 23rd
New York State Electric and Gas announced a competitive funding program for energy efficiency programs. Proposals were accepted from nonresidential customers or third-party associates working with those customers that included measures intended save at least 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity by October 2012. Proposals saving the most energy at the least cost would receive funding. The deadline for proposals was November 30th.
LCSD Energy Saving Project
Mar 23rd
Lansing Central School District is implementing a $5.8 million energy saving project (part of the EXCEL Capital Project and Energy Performance Contract). The project entails a number of energy efficiency measures, including installing a geothermal heating and cooling system. The project also includes motor and boiler replacements, building envelope improvements, lighting upgrades, installation of sunblocking window films, and computer network controls to shut down computers when not in use.
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services
Mar 23rd
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services was the recipient of a $750,000 grant that will enable them to promote energy efficiency in low to moderate income families through home improvement loans focusing on efficiency upgrades. Fifty rural families will be able to receive loans thanks to the grant, with a special focus on first time homebuyers and homeowners.
IC Energy Star Buildings
Mar 23rd
Two additional buildings at Ithaca College have been designated as Energy Star buildings. The Peggy R. Williams Center, which is undergoing review by the U.S. Green Building Council for certification at the LEED Platinum level, met the Energy Star certification for being at least 25% more energy efficient than comparable buildings. A third Quad residence hall building, Hood Hall, was also Energy Star certified, making Ithaca the only college and university in New York State to now have four such Energy Star buildings on its campus.
Performing Arts Center NY-CHPS Project
Mar 23rd
The Performing Arts Center at the Ithaca City School District has recently been chosen as a candidate to pursue NY-CHPS verification. The NY-CHPS program is designed to support sustainability efforts in K-12 schools with a focus on energy reduction. There are currently an estimated 300 CHPS projects underway nationwide, 12 in NY, and of those twelve, 2 are in the Ithaca City District.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant
Mar 23rd
In a significant step toward meeting its Climate Action Plan goals, Cornell brought its new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant on line. Before the CHP facility was built, 65,000 tons of coal were being burned each year to provide steam heat for approximately 150 of Cornell’s buildings. By switching fuel sources from coal to natural gas and producing heat and electricity together via the CHP facility, the university has reduced coal usage by 80%, associated carbon emissions by 28%; the facility provides about 85% of the electricity needed for campus. Cornell plans to eliminate coal as an energy source by mid-2011, reducing the university’s carbon footprint by 30%.
Energy Financing Guide
Mar 23rd
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County released its “Energy Financing Guide” in both hardcopy and web-based format. The guide simplifies the process of winnowing through all the information on the array of financing programs available to support energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy integration. The guide helps the reader easily “drill down” to the programs for which they may be eliglble, first by guiding the reader to select their residence type: homeowner, landlord, or tenant; and then further differentiating eligibility for available programs into three income tiers.
Community Outreach and Benchmarking Project
Mar 23rd
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County began their Community Outreach and Benchmarking Project in Tompkins County. The goal of the project is to stimulate interest in home energy efficiency. CCE works with community leaders and project participants to collect utility billing data from NYSEG and suggest options for increasing home energy efficiency.
Lighten Up Tompkins
Mar 23rd
On October 30th, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County began a year-long educational program titled “Lighten Up Tompkins”. The campaign will be the largest energy efficiency community outreach in Tompkins County. Over twenty local businesses are donating energy efficent products, coupons, and refreshments for volunteers who will be going door to door delivering the energy efficiency packets and products.
