Grant will promote green for Orange infrastructure
There could be no better place to announce the securing of a $3.5 million grant to help Orange County get “greener” than at the Sustainability Summit held in the Kaplan Science, Engineering and Technology Center at Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh March 9.
The money comes from ARRA, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
Along with keynote speaker Gay Browne, founder of California-based Greenopia, and her co-worker Doug Mazeffa, the company”™s research director, nearly 100 Orange County green advocates spent the better part of the day discussing ways the county could create sustainable energy without breaking the bank ”“ a daunting task in these days of stubborn joblessness.
Brown”™s bouts with lifelong asthma were the impetus for her to learn as much as she could about making her home a healthier place to live. Fifteen years ago, she built the first “green” home in the Los Angeles area, learning about eco-friendly paint, lumber, sheetrock, flooring and fabric hands-on. In the process, she was putting together a “green directory” for others. In 2005, she founded her company and began developing guidelines for other cities across the country and has worked with builders from coast to coast.
She received a warm welcome from like-minded collaborators from the mid-Hudson region, also endeavoring to bring healthier living spaces and affordable energy to the area. “I really want to convince consumers and their families that ”˜green-based”™ businesses can help them make a smooth transition. It doesn”™t have to be all or nothing. Even small changes make a big difference,” said Browne.
After breakout sessions that included education for sustainable careers, energy conservation and green energy, Browne and Mazeffa led a panel discussion with Patrice Strong of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; David Church; commissioner, Orange County Planning Department; James Taylor, president, Taylor Biomass L.L.C.; and Vincent Cozzolino, the former IBM physicist and electrical engineer who is now president and CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC) in Ulster County.
Despite volatile times in the economy, from housing to the agricultural marketplace, Church said the Hudson Valley “has a tremendous history of success…we are the birthplace of the conservation movement.”
Hudson Valley halls of learning ”“ from Mount St. Mary to Orange County Community College ”“ can help foster education and build new careers in the sciences and technologies, said Taylor, whose Taylor Biomass was a platinum sponsor for the summit.
Â
The maze of planning and zoning boards that make up New York”™s home rule can hamper forward movement and even the simplest of changes can become problematic. “The result is often gridlock,” said Church.
Â
To that end, Church announced Orange County will receive a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through ARRA. The block grant will also be used by municipalities and school districts to conduct energy audits; $430,000 will be available to local municipalities and school districts in Orange.
“The funding we will have available will strictly be for audits so municipal buildings and schools can see where they can save money,” said Church. “Then it will be up to them to pursue the recommendations.”
Honeywell Inc. will be paid $200,000 for the county”™s municipal energy audits.
The bulk of the $3.5 million grant will be spent upgrading and retrofitting county facilities, including the county”™s jail and government center in Goshen and the sewage treatment plant in Harriman, plus the Maple Street building that will be part of the new SUNY Orange campus in Newburgh.
The new Kaplan science, engineering and technology building under construction in Newburgh will host the county”™s first vegetated roof, giving SUNY science and engineering students an opportunity to learn about the possibilities that green-based technology has to offer.
For Orange”™s municipalities that choose to participate in the ARRA funding for energy audits, the nonprofit The Solar Energy Consortium can perform these services “at no charge,” said Church.
“We are here for the Valley,” said Cozzolino, who sees TSEC”™s mission as part of a collaborative endeavor to make the Hudson Valley”™s green-based technology sciences New York”™s version of California”™s Silicon Valley.
Taylor, who founded Taylor Recycling and is currently spearheading Taylor Biomass, has been in the business for nearly three decades and said he is “days away from finding out if my biomass project will receive approval from the Department of Energy. It”™s been a long wait, but hopefully, we”™re going to see a successful conclusion.”
Taylor”™s gasification plant will turn household trash into electricity ”“ something that may sound like something out of a good science-fiction story, but is all quite real ”“ and quite doable, said Taylor.
Church said the state has always been on the forefront of keeping things green and clean. “The first zoning code created in the state was in New York City, where every citizen was guaranteed clean air and sunshine.” He”™s hoping solar panels, gasification plants and other energy-saving, ecologically friendly measures will become the norm, not the exception, as the county and state search for ways to become energy independent.