View in your browser

Welcome to our Sustainable Westchester Quarterly Newsletter. You’ve certainly heard from us over these last months; today we are pleased to unveil our newsletter and just in time for October Energy Awareness Month.
WHAT CAN WE DO?

This year we made a renewed commitment to asking the question “What Can We Do?” about climate change, to build resiliency, to create healthier communities? What Can We Do about environmental justice? What Can We Do to foster and build programs together with our constituent groups – municipalities, residents, and businesses?  

As we mark Energy Awareness Month, we are aware that the transition to clean energy is one of the important things we can do. We are proud to be part of the effort helping to make possible the transformation of our local energy grid as we achieve NY State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goals in Westchester County. Our current and future programs will help achieve the needed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy by 2030.

We can help our municipal members reach their own climate impact plans and achieve NYSERDA Climate Smart Community certification. We can educate, inform and connect businesses and residents alike to programs and the needed resources to take control of their energy future and reduce their carbon footprint.


So, What Can We Do? is the question that we’ll keep asking ourselves and the community, challenging us all to take make a greater commitment and take on additional action.
WHAT'S NEW AT SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER?
"Conversations in Clean Energy" Podcasts

Our “Conversations in Clean Energy” podcast will premier this month! Resilient, sustainable communities will be built on a foundation of clean, renewable energy. This podcast series featuring topics in the clean energy sector with host Radina Valova can be downloaded from Spotify, Google Play and Apple Podcast store or wherever you find your podcast content.

The premiere podcast produced in collaboration with NYSERDA was sponsored by WaterFurnace.


EnergySmart HOMES
 

Sustainable Westchester is pleased to be working with NYSERDA again in support of residential clean heating and cooling solutions. We will be launching the newly named and branded program: EnergySmart HOMES!

Residents can banish drafts, high energy bills and eliminate fossil fuels with home energy efficiency and clean heating and cooling solutions. The new EnergySmart HOMES program represents a merging of two energy savings programs known as HeatSmart Westchester and Energize NY Residential.

To learn more, sign up for a home energy assessment, visit SustainableWestchester.org or contact Lauren at lauren@sustainablewestchester.org.
New Webinar Series: Creating a Zero Waste Lifestyle!

We premiered the first in our series “Creating a Zero Waste Lifestyle” in June!  We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with our community partners and showcase all the amazing work that is done at the community level every day.

Our fabulous guest speakers were Patti Capparelli (Rye Sustainability Committee) and Anna Riehl (EcoPel/Village of Pelham Sustainability Advisory Board), "Spilled the Beans on a Zero Waste Kitchen." We are looking forward to our next in the Zero Waste Lifestyle series in November when we will create zero waste holidays! 

Do you have an idea, want to guest host, or are interested in showcasing your community’s zero waste initiative?
Please contact
neha@sustainablewestchester.org.
Summer Pilot GridRewards!
First-of-its-Kind Demand Response Residential Electricity Program

We launched a pilot of the first-of-its-kind residential Demand Response program with energy software developer Logical Buildings in the Con Edison utility area this summer. Pilot enrollees learned about their usage, carbon footprint and were given information to reduce usage and earn cash back from taking simple energy actions during peak demand times.  Some of the pilot participants may earn up to $500 back from just one summer!

This program contributes greatly to the transition of a clean energy future, reducing the need for dirty “peaker” power plants which come online during high usage times. Can you imagine a time when these plants were no longer needed and residents can help affect grid outcomes by collective action? GridRewards will roll-out for 2021 and we will be sharing more, soon.

You can learn more here and stay tuned for a formal announcement and instructions to sign up! 

ENERGY AWARENESS MONTH EVENTS –
SAVE THE DATE.
24 Hours of Reality: Countdown to the Future

October 11, 2020

10-11AM

A focus on Westchester, "What is the future we want and how do we get there?"
Climate Reality Project, Westchester Chapter & Sustainable Westchester
Register here
NYSEG Community Renewal

October 15, 2020

7-8PM


Westchester Power Information Session
Sustainable Westchester Presents
Register here
Clean Energy Solutions Seminars

October 21, 2020

10-3:30PM

NYSERDA, Con Ed, Westchester County & Sustainable Westchester Present
More to follow
BRI Monthly Member Meeting

October 22, 2020

Clean Energy Solutions
Sustainable Westchester Presents
More to follow
Alliance for Clean Energy, NY 14th Annual Conference

October 28, 2020

(Full day)

Sustainable Westchester Co-sponsor
The Future of Clean Energy: Imaging it as a Community
Invitation Event

October 29, 2020

10 AM- 12 PM

CAC's, County & Community Climate, Sustainability & Environmental Organizations
Details to follow

We have more to come including a sponsored event with valued partners, a Community Energy event in Yonkers and a Seminar & Workshop on NYS Stretch Codes for our Municipal members. Stay tuned!
Have you checked out our Community Calendar yet?

Bookmark this page! Make Sustainable Westchester’s Community Calendar your go-to resource for sustainability events around the County. AND, you can enter your community events as well! Just follow the link and simple instructions and you are on your way. If you have questions or need troubleshooting please contact marketing@sustainablewestchester.org.
HERE'S AN UPDATE ON OUR CURRENT PROGRAMS…
SEE WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO AND WHAT'S TO COME!
Westchester Power

Westchester Power marked its 4th anniversary in May and has to date made a measurable environmental impact, Countywide. The success of our community energy program is because of you, our 27 participating municipalities! We are so grateful for the continued support of Westchester residents, who have leveraged their collective power to pave the way for clean energy initiatives at home, where it matters most.

Over the last few months, we’ve been around the County, since 2021 is a renewal year for both Con Ed and NYSEG municipalities. We will be bringing continued environmental benefits, competitive rates for green renewable energy supply, providing cost control for residents through fixed-rates and offering insurance against fluctuating energy prices. For our municipal members, in support of our renewal, we’ve produced education videos to help understand everything from “What is Green Energy?” to “How to Read Your Bill.” Visit our YouTube channel to check them out for yourself.
What to expect next from Westchester Power...

It's renewal time!
We've negotiated contract renewals and NYSEG communities will see their program beginning 12/1/2020 and Con Ed communities beginning 1/1/2021. Respectively, residents should expect their notification letters next week and early in November. Municipalities should expect notification and a tool kit to correspond with those dates.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please visit our website or contact Dan Welsh (dan@sustainablewestchester.org).
Community Solar

Lots of exciting developments on the Community Solar front! We are pleased to announce our NYSEG (Northern Westchester) community campaign effort, which includes enrollment opportunities for residents and municipalities as well. The Towns of Bedford and Lewisboro are the first to enroll their municipal accounts in community solar. We have launched community campaigns with several NYSEG municipalities to educate residents on community solar and its benefits and Sustainable Westchester is supporting local sustainability initiatives in participating towns through contributions for each resident who enrolls. Through this collaborative effort, we have allowed both small and large (our last was 7.5 megawatts!) solar projects to be financed and built in Westchester and the region.
Innovative Collaboration

We are collaborating with NYPA and Westchester County through the Westchester Community Solar Partnership to make it easier for municipalities to host community solar installations, earning lease revenues and creating more local renewable energy. About 160 potential sites have been submitted for evaluation so far!

The first community solar site on a closed landfill in Westchester is ready to go live in Mount Kisco! Sustainable Westchester enrolled well over 100 residents and organizations in this first-of-its-kind municipal-sited installation that also includes battery storage. A ribbon cutting is coming!

The Community Solar program is working on making the benefits of solar more accessible to low income residents. We are excited to provide more details in the coming months.

For more information you can visit sustainablewestchester.org/solar or contact Nina Orville, Program Director at nina@sustainablewestchester.org.
Commercial Clean Heating & Cooling
 

We are proud of our continued work with NYSERDA in the area of clean heating & cooling solutions. We kicked off another two-year campaign in March in support of commercial solutions.  Take a look at our instructive case study video designed to increase greater understanding of the technology and a path forward to adoption for developers and municipalities.


We've launched with full steam, including the kick-off of our Roundtable Series (July & September) for key industry stakeholders and we hit the road to talk commercial clean heating & cooling at a number of industry events reaching hundreds with our resources and solutions.

Reach out to Rachel Carpitella who can help your municipality lead the way in green building.  Contact: rachel@sustainablewestchester.org or 631-935-3537. Click here for webpage.
Clean Transportation Project
 

Clean Transportation Project has set its sights on placing an EV in every garage and continuing its commitment to helping municipalities with fleet conversion and charging station infrastructure, recognizing that 36% of our carbon footprint is created by transportation. We can’t get to a clean energy future without electric transportation playing a role.

We saw for ourselves just how much interest there is when we hosted two events this year so far, in May and just recently in recognition of Drive Electric Week (look for recording to come). We are pleased to announce a charging station partnership with Blink Charging and exclusive EV discounts with dealers within the County. Residents and municipalities should visit our site Clean Transportation for more information.
Zero Waste
 

Our innovative, shared service program 'Recycle Right',  an interactive app (also available through municipal websites), designed to streamline waste and recycling communications. We are pleased to say that it has grown this year! It now serves 13 municipalities with one more municipality currently in the process of on-boarding. We wish to thank all our participating communities for their support.

This year the app has garnered 7,000 new users with searches on a range of questions including how to dispose of PPE items. The Recyclopedia function has been updated to be more useful and hyper-local with municipal specific solutions.

To learn more, click here or reach out to neha@sustainablewestchester.org to see how to get your community involved.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT —
Here are some of the things we are working on!

Direct Supply

We are working on advancing New York State’s CLCPA goals of achieving 70% renewable by 2030 by facilitating the direct supply of electricity generated Upstate New York and brought to the County’s residents by new dedicated transmission lines. Currently, we are exploring leveraging the off-take power of Sustainable Westchester's Westchester Power program to position it for long-term supply contracts with upstate generators. We look forward to sharing more details soon.

Sunshine to EV Demonstration at our New Offices

We are piloting a Sunshine to EV demonstration, with installing a solar PV array of the roof of the building. The electricity produced by the system will be stored in a battery that will supply a high-speed EV charger that stays up even the grid is down. Low- and medium- income communities in the Village of Mount Kisco will received credits from the excess solar generation. Very exciting! If you are interested in exploring this option for your community. Contact Michel Delafontaine at michel@sustainablewestchester.org

#FabulousFans&Followers

Like and Follow our social media pages for day-to-day community news and information.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for our newsletter, inquired about one or more of our programs via email, phone call or at an event.

If you prefer to not receive periodic updates & information from Sustainable Westchester, please opt-out below.