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Energy efficiency

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Town to set up program that would provide energy audits, fund some upgrades for homeowners

Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine. File photo by Alex Petroski

And Brookhaven Town said: “Let there be light.”

The town unanimously approved a resolution at its Feb. 8 board meeting authorizing the repurposing of unused funds received as part of a 2009 grant to the town-wide street lighting fixture replacement capital project.

The town began the process of replacing old, high-wattage street lights with LED, energy-efficient ones in 2013. In 2015, Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) announced a five-year, capital plan, called the Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Initiative, which was established with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2020. An estimated $1.45 million of that plan was slated for street lighting fixes. The Feb. 8 authorization to repurpose the funds added $943,000 to aid in the upgrades. The new LED street lights — white light that increases visibility for drivers and in turn increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists on the roadways — increase energy efficiency and reduce costs for taxpayers by decreasing electricity used. Romaine said during a Feb. 5 board work session about 6,000 of the town’s 40,000 street lights have been upgraded, and are estimated to have a 15-year lifespan.

The unused money was left over from the Energy Department’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, allocated to the town in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund the town’s green homes and go solar initiatives. Brookhaven received more than $4 million to fund the two — green homes seeks to help residents make their homes more efficient at little or no cost, and go solar pays town residents’ upfront costs for solar panel installation.

As a result of the funds being repurposed, Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) questioned whether or not this would be the end of the green homes and go solar programs. The money that will be saved will allow for funds to become available to create a replacement program that will aid in energy efficiency, according to Cartright.

“One of my concerns when I saw this was on the agenda, was that I was hoping this repurposing would not mark the end of these types of programs,” Cartright said during the meeting. “But I’m happy to announce after speaking to the supervisor and our Housing and Human Services Department, and of course our commissioner of finance, it looks like we may be able to create basically a town-sponsored grant, where there will be revolving loans, which would also help individual homeowners have more energy efficient homes, as well as including a component of upgrading sanitary systems. We’re looking into all of the details here and plan to form a committee.”

Romaine announced the plan is to establish a program that would allow for these initiatives to potentially continue, through energy efficiency audits made available for town homeowners, even providing funding to do upgrades. Romaine said the details are still being worked out and will be officially announced sometime in March. Romaine thanked Cartright for raising the concerns about the two long-running Brookhaven programs.

“It will apply town-wide,” the supervisor said about the soon-to-come program. “It will be to encourage homeowners in Brookhaven to do energy audits, and to provide the funding in either a low-interest or no interest loan to make those improvements and make Brookhaven the most energy-efficient town that we possibly can be.”

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Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn file photo

A North Shore lawmaker is calling on Suffolk County to give green a chance.

Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) is pushing a pilot program that, if enacted, would inject green roof construction principles into roof repair or replacement plans for one county-owned building on a trial basis.

A “green roof” uses a garden or plantings to increase energy efficiency by insulating the building in the winter and reducing solar absorption in the summer, to decrease the need for heating and air conditioning, according to the not-for-profit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities organization. Green roofs can also attract various pollinating insect species, which would serve as an environmental benefit to the surrounding region.

“Structures that employ green roof concepts report increased energy efficiency,” Hahn said. “In the municipalities that have already installed these roofs, officials have discovered that being green is saving green.”

If enacted in Suffolk County, the pilot project would take root atop one county-owned building, Hahn spokesman Seth Squicciarino said. The county’s Department of Public Works would monitor the green roof to measure the benefits.

If successful, similar roof renovations could sprout up throughout the county.

Hahn said the DPW would select which building in Suffolk should get the roof repair or replacement project, select a vendor for the work and provide periodic reports on its progress as the seasons pass.

The plan was first put onto the table March 3 and the county Legislature’s Public Works, Transportation and Energy Committee mulled over the proposal at its April 20 meeting.

Hahn said municipalities throughout the country were already looking into similar projects and, in some cases, requiring new construction projects to include green roof principles. As for Long Island, green roofs are already in full bloom on the SUNY Old Westbury campus and on the East End’s southern fork.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized green roof projects as an effective management practice that, if implemented on a large scale, would reduce the volume of stormwater entering local waterways and lower water temperatures to enhance water quality. New York City has already enacted a $5.23 rebate for each square foot of many green roof projects, and the city of Syracuse has allocated nearly $4 million toward 37 different green roof projects to date.

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Town takes lead on latest Suffolk County initiative saving money by reducing fossil fuel consumption

Smithtown has already shown its commitment to environmentally friendly projects since expanding its solar initiative over the last several years. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Smithtown has flipped the switch on energy savings.

The town board voted unanimously last Thursday to make Smithtown the first town in Suffolk County to adopt a new county-developed alternative energy geothermal code for residential and commercial properties, paving the way for more energy-efficient construction practices. The motion was brought before a public hearing at last week’s town board meeting and met with praise from those close to the model code.

“There is an energy crisis on Long Island. We have some of the highest electric rates in the entire nation,” said Smithtown resident Mike Kaufman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, who helped draft the model code. “Fossil fuel energy has high costs and we have severe environmental costs when fossil fuels are used. Town of Smithtown residents need to think globally and act locally by going green as much as possible.”

Smithtown Building Director William White said the code was drafted with help from several state and local agencies with hopes of capitalizing on geothermal technology, which draws energy from the earth to provide heating, cooling and hot water for homes. The benefits, he said, include a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, the lowering of heat consumption and costs, and nearly quadrupling the efficiency of fossil fuel systems.

“The installation of geothermal systems has been increasing statewide,” he said. “And best of all, there are no changes in building permit fees necessary.”

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) stood beside the Planning Commission as well as PSEG Long Island and the Long Island Geothermal Energy Organization back in November to unveil the new energy code and urged for all towns to consider its adoption. When the code was made public PSEG also announced it would provide implementation assistance of $10,000 to each township and $5,000 to the first 10 villages with a population greater than 5,000 residents across Long Island that adopted the code by March 31.

Smithtown was also one of the first of 10 towns to sign onto another model code crafted at the county Planning Commission for solar energy, which helps municipalities evaluate proposed solar energy systems for residential and commercial properties. Since its adoption, an estimated 6,000 solar installations have been finished throughout Long Island.

Kaufman praised the board for taking the lead as the first Suffolk town to sign onto the code after it was introduced back in November, with his help. Under the new code, he said the town will reduce greenhouse gases and use less electricity while expanding clean technology and making sure it is installed correctly.

“We wrote a model code, and a number of towns have begun the efforts to adopt them. But Smithtown is the first to actually get up to the plate and adopt it,” he said. “This town is one of the leaders in Suffolk with going green efforts and it is a pleasure to see my hometown leading the way and stepping up.”

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