February 2021
Still Zooming — Making a difference from right there in your easy chair!
Collin Adkins, Community Energy Advisor for the Mid-Hudson Region from Cornell Cooperative Extension, explained how CCE holistically approaches the work of helping residents of New York get better energy efficiency and clean energy through the Community Energy Engagement Program.
New York State offers an array of programs, some more confusing than others, to help residents with:
energy efficiency (everything from changing light bulbs to home sealing and insulation)
clean heating and transportation (like heat pumps and electric vehicles)
clean energy (a wide array of solar choices).
The Community Energy Engagement Program has a strong focus on helping low- and middle-income New Yorkers find, but all New Yorkers are eligible for advice and assistance. This is a great resource for sustainability minded people to be aware of.
Committee Reports
Off Fossil Fuels Committee
Monitoring of the CPV plant continues, but results so far are inconclusive.
We hope that EHP will get funding to expand the study.
The Zoom Garden Plot continues to meet monthly through the winter. Please send all local gardeners our way, especially beginners or gardeners with lots of questions. GrowLocalGWL@gmail.com
CLCPA Update - Advisory Panels are compiling and refining their recommendations to the Climate Action Council. By the end of March, the recommendations will be finalized and a few months of integration analysis will start. Lots of changes are coming.
Julia Calderon told us about a potential Skip-the-Straw Law for Orange County. This kind of law is good for the environment and good for businesses, because instead of following the custom of giving every customer all the junk that is typically discarded without use (we’re talking things like straws, plastic cutlery and soy sauce packets), these things will only be given out upon request. It saves businesses money and reduces landfill contents for everyone. We believe a law like this will move forward in Orange County and we fully support it.
The Sustainable World Book Club just finished reading “Repair Revolution” and enjoyed a discussion with Elizabeth Knight, one of the authors. The next book up is “Energy: A Human History,” by Richard Rhodes. Please contact Christina at bookclub@sustainablewarwick.org to receive the Zoom meeting login.
The Climate and Energy Committee is launching a major campaign to help people sign up for community solar, which we support because it is a positive development for the local grid as we move toward net zero goals. The deal for the consumer is this: by signing up, they get 10% off their electricity bills for the next 20+ years, a $100 sign-up bonus, and a $100 referral bonus to the local non-profit of their choice. Sounds pretty good, right? But IT’S NOT A SCAM!
We are working with three community solar companies and developing partnerships with several local nonprofits to receive these referral bonuses. The sweet spot we seek is for Warwick residents with financial pressures to save money while helping out some of Warwick’s most beloved nonprofit groups.
Do you have community solar? Please tell us how it is working out for you! We want to hear about both problems and profits.
If you don’t have solar panels on your own home and don’t have community solar, can you explain why you have not taken this opportunity yet?
Please contact the Climate and Energy Committee with all comments and suggestions about this campaign. CleanEnergy@SustainableWarwick.org