Village wins energy grant

MILLERTON — The village recently received a helping hand from NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to install solar panels at the water district’s pump house. The money was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — otherwise known as stimulus funding. And the much-needed assistance is nothing to sneeze at.

In fact, the grant totalled $286,334 and it will go toward installing a 49-kilowatt photovoltaic system with an estimated annual savings of $9,231 to the village. It will help to produce energy for the pump house to bring water from the wells to the water tower. Last year that bill was just under $18,000.

According to NYSERDA, the system will provide close to 40 percent of the cost of the electrical needs for the municipal water pumps on an annual basis, and it will tie into the existing electrical supply provided by Central Hudson Gas & Electric.

According to village Trustee Yosh Schulman, who wrote the grant application, without the funding the village would never have been able to afford the project. Millerton will clearly benefit financially, he said, but it will also reap the environmental rewards as well.

“I am excited by this opportunity to have the village of Millerton take forward thinking steps in creating a community striving for long-term sustainability,� he said. “Steps our children will be proud of that we took to help protect our environment as well as being financially responsible.�

“I really want to give a lot of thanks to Yosh Schulman — he worked incredibly hard on this grant and put in a lot of his personal time and effort on behalf of the village to get this grant,� Millerton Mayor John Scutieri said. “Without his effort this wouldn’t be happening. It’s a good feeling and I think we’re the smallest municipality NYSERDA has worked with, so it’s quite amazing.�

NYSERDA received more than 300 proposals and evaluated them on a competitive  basis, according to its literature. “Primary selection criteria included technical viability, cost-effectiveness, demonstration of compliance with program requirements and cost sharing,â€� it stated in a press release. At the center of it all was the fact that the ARRA funding made the grants possible in the first place.

“The federal stimulus program is providing critical funding to help local governments, hospitals, colleges and universities and nonprofit agencies reduce their energy costs while helping New York reduce its overall energy consumption and our impact on the environment,� NYSERDA President and CEO Francis Murray stated in the release.

“The energy conservation measures this funding supports will help create jobs and make meaningful progress towards meeting Gov. David Paterson’s ambitious energy reduction goals. NYSERDA looks forward to working with the award recipients to help them achieve the greatest savings possible.�

The governor has set a goal of meeting 45 percent of the state’s energy needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2015, according to NYSERDA, which estimates that 50,000 new jobs will be created throughout New York as a result of Paterson’s initiative.

Meanwhile, Scutieri said the village’s success with the NYSERDA grant has encouraged the Village Board to pursue other grant opportunities.

“It’s triggered us to now look into other grants,â€� he said. “We need fencing around [the pump house] and the solar panels and we’re looking into the possibility of a homeland security grant to fence in the entire water department. Amber, our village clerk, is researching what grant opportunities are currently available. It’s all so cutting edge, so it’s something we’re  really excited to know will work for the village of Millerton. It’s fun.â€�

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