Governor Cuomo Signs Power NY Act Into Law

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

In early August this year there was good news for supporters of clean energy alternatives in New York. On August 4th Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in the presence of groups such as the Alliance for Clean Energy in New York, (ACE NY) and others, signed the bill into law known as the “Power NY Act of 2011.” The bill signing ceremony celebrated the re-instatement of the statewide power plant siting law, called Article X.

Going Green in  New York

Another requirement of the bill is that it creates a recovery mechanism for the “Green Jobs/Green New York” program, plus the bill will compel the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to investigate methods to increase the use of solar power in New York in a viable manner, and release a paper publishing the results of the study.

Carol E. Murphy, the Executive Di4rector of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York praised the new legislation:

“We applaud Governor Cuomo for signing the Power NY Act, which will have a dramatic positive impact on the state’s goal of providing affordable and clean energy, improving our environment, and creating jobs and economic growth through energy policy.”

Providing Strong Environmental Safeguards

“The hallmark of this legislation is its comprehensive, streamlined process for siting new power plants, which at the same time provides strong environmental safeguards and a robust level of input from host communities and other stakeholders,” added Ms. Murphy.  “Such an improved process will ensure that development of new clean energy projects like wind farms moves forward in a timely manner and is ultimately met with success.”

The new law also affects consumers directly by allowing homeowners to repay loans which they obtained in order to finance the improvement of their homes to make them more energy efficient through a savings plan on their utility bills. The hope is that this method of repaying the loan, using money saved on the energy bills, will encourage homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient.

Sending a Clear Message

Senior vice president for market Development at Deepwater Wind, and Chairmen of ACE NY’s Board of Directors, Tim Daniels, had this to say about the ceremony:

“Today’s ceremony sends a clear message to the clean energy industry that this state is genuinely committed to attracting investment and building its renewable energy portfolio. We look forward to working with Governor Cuomo on continuing to bring green jobs in state and solidifying New York’s role as a leader in the nation’s clean energy economy.”

Brooklyn Bakery Honored for Going Green

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? The Brooklyn landmark bakery, Mrs. Maxwell’s on Atlantic Avenue in East New York, has proven that just because you might have been around a long time, it doesn’t mean you can’t still improve.

Borough President Marty Markowitz declared August 9th, 2011 as “Mrs. Maxwell’s Bakery ‘Go Green’ Celebration Day.”

“Mrs. Maxwell’s Bakery has satisfied the sweet tooth of Brooklynites since 1928 in the very same location on Atlantic Avenue and I commend them for taking their long-standing business to the next level by ‘going green’,” Markowitz said. “Con Edison’s program is a win-win, and I hope that Mrs. Maxwell’s successful example will encourage many other small businesses to do the same.”

Sam Naraiswar, vice president and general manager of the bakery, decided to see what he could do to save money and energy at the bakery. Con Edison’s Small Business Direct Install

Con Edison's Small Business Program

Program was able to asses Mrs. Maxwell for energy usage, for free. The survey revealed that there were several things the bakery could do which would help them save money and energy.

The Con Edison program supplied Mrs. Maxwell’s with 71 free CFL lamps and changed another 86 fluorescent lights and lamps. They also installed an additional 14 LED lamps. The program paid for 70% of the cost of the upgrade, leaving the bakery with only 30% of the bill which the bakery paid ‘out-of-pocket.’ As a result of the improvements the bakery now pays

$7,075 less for energy each year. This savings means that the cost of the upgrade was paid for in less than five months.

“We’re thrilled with the results of the program and are honored to receive this proclamation from Borough President Markowitz,” said Naraiswar. “Not only do we now have better lighting in key areas of the bakery, but we’re also saving over $7,000 on our energy costs annually.”

NYSERDA at the Great New York State Fair

Come visit the NYSERDA Booth at the upcoming Great New York State Fair and learn new ways to make your home and/or business more energy efficient while at the same time increasing comfort, safety and convenience. The focus of the exhibit, which will be located in the Americraft Center of Progress Building, building number five, booth number 1002, will be on lowering energy costs while simultaneously protecting the environment.

Really Big Fair

The Great New York State Fair is the largest annual event that takes place in New York, and the seventh largest state fair in the United States, with an estimated attendance figure well above one million each year. Last year’s fair was the third largest in all of the 164-year history of the fair, and this year it is expected to reach last year’s level of attendance or even exceed it.

One of the Best

The Los Angeles Times ranked the Great New York State Fair as one of the nation’s best, and it has even been featured as a coveted prize on Television game shows.

Art, Food and More

The emphasis of the Fair is on what’s best in New York, including art, agriculture, commerce, entertainment, education, food and just plain fun. The Fair will be 12 days long this year, from August 25th until September 5th, open each day from 10am until 10pm.
No matter where you live in New York, the Fair is just a short drive away. Conveniently located at the New York State Fairgrounds at 581 State Fair Boulevard in Syracuse, New York, it is worth a visit to this year’s Great New York State Fair. For more information call: 315-487-7711.

Wind Power Blowing Forward in New York

Acciona Energy is now making a bid to develop a 76.5-megawatt wind farm, which is projected to create 150 temporary jobs during construction and between 6 and 10 permanent jobs when the farm is up and running.

Clear Economic Benefits for New York

The project manager of the St. Lawrence Wind Farm, Timothy Q. Conboy explained how the project will be good for New York.

“The economic benefits are clear,” Conboy said. “The benefits that have been in other parts of New York will accrue to Cape Vincent, Lyme and Jefferson County if our project goes forward.”

Value Disputed by Committee Report

Acciona created a report describing the far-reaching economic benefits of wind power to the area, with a special emphasis on the benefits this particular project will have to residents of Cape Vincent, Lyme and Jefferson County when the wind farm is completed. The report was distributed earlier this month to officials in the town and school districts and the county. The report is at least in part responding to a report issued by county officials called the Cape Vincent Wind Economic Impact Committee report. The report is available to view on line, its conclusion being that the project will negatively affect the area, including lowering property values and hurting tourism and the school district.

Mr. Conboy defended the benefits of the project in response to the committee’s report.

“We didn’t go through point-by-point and disagree,” Mr. Conboy said. “But there are 14 operating wind farms in New York State and we have specific examples from those projects, which have had a significant, widespread benefit on the host communities. The Cape Vincent report ignored those.”

New York Poised to Stimulate More Solar Power Use

Analysts have guessed the New York may have the potential to harness the sun’s rays to produce up to 20%, or more, of its energy needs. But in order to achieve this number in an efficient way, it is necessary to know which rooftops in the city are the most useful for the production of this electricity.

The technology exists to gather such information. The technology is called Light Detection and Ranging. Lidar, as it is known for short, is a laser system which is installed on an airplane which then takes overhead photos of the city and translates them into ‘solar maps.” With the aid of a solar map, a resident can look up his building on-line and discover how good his roof would be as a place to install a solar array. The images obtained give precise information about the shape, angle and size of rooftops, the shading from trees and other structures nearby.

The information can also be used by city planners and utilities to create better energy policies for the city. The maps not only give information about the potential for solar energy production, but also how much solar power is already in production here in New York.

NYECC Supports Energy Consumers

The New York Energy Consumers Council (NYECC) is a not-for-profit organization that supports and is supported by energy consumers of all stripes. For the past twenty years the NYECC, and for fifty years previously as the Owners’ Committee on Electric Rates, Inc., has advocated for fair pricing and other energy issues on behalf of hospitals, universities, financial institutions, property managers, public benefit corporations, ESCOs, and energy consumers within the Con Edison service area.

The NYECC takes pride in the fact that it has always been involved in the public energy rate-making process, thereby saving consumers millions of dollars. Today the NYECC is involved in either mitigating, creating and/or improving:

• Programs for Demand Response
• No sales tax on the delivery of natural gas to consumers
• Limits on wholesale peak power pricing in the summer
• Rates of economic development such as Power for Jobs and Business Incentive Rate
• NYSERDA options for funding
• ICAP (for those with on-site generation)
• Regulations controlling emissions for those with on-site power generation

Most recently the NYECC has worked to negotiate a settlement with Con Edison over the rate increase of steam. The NYECC intervention will help save energy consumers millions of dollars of the course of the next two years. As of June 10th the staff of the Public Service Commission (PSC) recommended the approval of the NYECC proposal by the Commission. The NYECC was the only advocacy group which focused on what could have been severe re-design of the steam rates, which had the potential to expose consumers to an unbalanced and less than fair percentage of the rate increase.

EPA Creates Rule to Reduce Cross-State Air Pollution

  • * A new rule was finalized on July 6, 2011 by the US Environmental Protection Agency which will protect the health of millions of citizens.

 

  • * The rule encourages states to decrease levels of air pollution and meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 1997 and 2006 for fine airborne particles.

 

  • * The rule is called the “Cross-State Air Pollution Rule” (CSAPR) and will force 27 states to drastically improve their quality of air through the reduction of power plant emissions of fine particles and ozone which cross state lines, negatively affecting the air quality of the adjacent state.

Consumers Willing to Pay for Green Energy

In a recent study conducted by Vestas Wind Systems A/S, it was found that 50% of consumers are willing to pay more for products that are from companies that use renewable energy.  Morten Albæk, the chief marketing officer of this wind turbines company said that the data shows that “consumers have a strong preference for green products, and that corporations can get a commercial benefit from using renewable energy.”

The study polled 31,000 consumers in 26 different countries.  It found that 90% of people want an increase in renewable energy and that 50% of them would pay extra to get these products.  The study found a large difference from country to country, with consumers in China, Chile and India willing to pay extra for green products.  Interestingly, Chinese people listed climate change as the biggest challenge they see the world facing today; America had climate change far down on their list of concerns, and focused, rather, on economic recession as the biggest hurdle.

Albæk explained this by saying that he thinks that “There is some sort of climate change fatigue in the U.S.”  A recent Gallup poll confirmed these opinions.  It showed that Americans feel less threatened this year by climate chance than they did three years ago.

Deregulation Helps Consumers Save Money

Ever since New York State deregulated  power companies, including Con Edison, New Yorkers have had the opportunity to save money by shopping around for the best service among the many suppliers of electricity and natural gas, known as ESCOs (Energy Supply Company.)

If you haven’t switched to a different supplier because you were afraid that it was hard to change, or you might get poorer service, or you might end up paying more, you should be reassured that there is a potential to get better service and lower prices by investigating what the choices available to you are.

Most power companies make it easy to make the switch, since they are anxious to get your business.

You can begin your search at SaveOnEnergy.com. At this web site you can compare how much each power supply company charges in your area.

Here is a list of electricity and natural gas suppliers from which you may choose, but please note that this is just a partial list, and there are many more, creating a marketplace of fierce competition.

  • IDT Energy                  1-877-887-6866
  • MXenergy                    1-800-375-1277
  • Ambit Energy             1-877-282-6248

ACE NY Praises Governor Cuomo for Supporting Alternative Energy Sources

Governor Cuomo received kudos from the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) for signing new legislation which will make it easier for New Yorkers to add on-site renewable energy production systems.

Thanks to the Chairman of the Senate Energy committee, George Maziarz in conjunction with the Energy Committee Chairman of the New York State Assembly Kevin Cahill and the Assembly bill sponsor Marcus Crespo legislation allowing for remote net metering was passed in both houses earlier in the year. This legislation paves the way for farms and other non-residential energy users who decide to install renewable energy systems to not be forced to have that system directly and physically connected to the site where the energy is used. No matter where that system is physically located the customer will receive a billing credit for whatever energy is produced. The law also covers customers who have multiple electric meters.

“Governor Cuomo’s signing of this legislation is an important step forward in continually improving and expanding the opportunities for New York to build its clean energy economy, and we commend and appreciate his endorsement,” said Carol E. Murphy, Executive Director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. “The ability to remotely net meter is essential in making renewable energy a viable option for customers whose energy resource may not be located directly adjacent to where electricity is used. We see this scenario with farms, municipalities, and school districts, and those are just the types of customers who can particularly benefit from having greater control over energy costs via an on-site renewable energy system.”