A new state energy program to assess the possibility of community microgrids has launched with the mid-Hudson region securing the most grants in the initial stage.
The state recently completed the first of three stages in its NY Prize Community Grid Competition ”“ the new $40 million program touted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority as the first of its kind in the country ”“ awarding 83 applicants up to $100,000 each in research grants. The money will be used by the recipients, which are mostly municipalities, to assess the engineering feasibility of installing microgrids in towns, villages and cities.
Of the 10 regions, the mid-Hudson Valley area ”“ which consists of Westchester, Rockland, Ulster, Orange, Dutchess, Putnam and Sullivan counties ”“Â received the most grants, for 23 projects. The region with the next highest number of awards was Long Island, which received 14 grants.
The mid-Hudson Valley projects are mapped below. (Note: Locations are based on municipality and not exact.)
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For more details on each project and others in New York, click here.
A microgrid operates in connection with the main power grid system but has the ability to disconnect itself and run as a separate island of power. This function is important during power outages because it can restore pockets of power when a downed grid knocks out entire regions. Some microgrids are powered through sustainable energy sources such as solar panels or hydrogen fuel cells.
The award winners will now work for the next seven months with their project partners, including utility companies, community officials, technology experts, scientists and researchers, to determine how or if a microgrid could be successful.
Sustainable Westchester, a nonprofit consortium of 45 local governments in the county, helped 10 municipalities with grant applications, and all of those were chosen for the feasibility assessment stage. The nonprofit, which aids its members with sustainability practices and initiatives, has been brought on as a partner for all 10 projects in the next stage of NY Prize.
The reason the mid-Hudson region received a disproportionate number of grants is because the applicants were better equipped to anticipate the questions, according to Leo Wiegman, executive director of Sustainable Westchester.
“The key phrase in the title of this grant was ”˜community,”™” he said. Developing a microgrid system that could benefit first responders, pharmacies, grocery stores and libraries was “clearly what NYSERDA was looking for,” he said.
There was one mid-Hudson grant recipient that was not a municipality: Stewart International Airport in New Windsor.
“Stewart International Airport serves as an emergency operations center and preparedness staging area, with key tenants and critical functions that rely on the airport”™s services and infrastructure,” according to a statement from Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., a partner on the project. The airport was critical in the days after Superstorm Sandy, providing hourly flights for military aircraft to deliver equipment and relief workers to the region.
The feasibility studies will be evaluated after they are completed, and a smaller group of winners will be awarded about $1 million each to conduct detailed engineering designs that will be accepted through December 2017. In the final stage, the state will pick winners to receive additional money for construction.
Applicants who were not chosen to receive funding initially for the competition are still eligible in later stages of the program.
