If your essential appliances were lost or damaged because of Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee, you may qualify for cash rebates for an energy-efficient replacement.  

In September, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched an $8 million appliance grant program to help New Yorkers cover the costs of replacing vital household appliances damaged by the recent flooding. The following products are eligible under this rebate program administered by NYSERDA: refrigerators ($350), clothes washers ($250), clothes dryers ($250), dehumidifiers ($100), furnaces ($2,000), boilers ($2,500), and qualified hot water heaters (gas storage water heaters, heat pump water heaters, electric water heaters, $400). Grants will be a fixed amount for different appliances and could cover up to 100 percent of the costs of a purchase.

Residents statewide in affected areas will be eligible and must affirm that they have been impacted by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee and that these products are not covered by insurance or FEMA assistance. For residents affected by Hurricane Irene, grants on purchases of approved appliances and equipment will be retroactive to Aug. 29, 2011, and for residents affected by Tropical Storm Lee, grants will be retroactive to Sept. 9, 2011.

Purchases of appliances and equipment, with the exception of dehumidifiers, must be for replacement purposes only and purchases covered by insurance or FEMA are not eligible. Grants go toward eligible ENERGY STAR^® or High Efficiency appliances or equipment.

To learn more and see if you are eligible, visit: www.nysappliancerebates.com 

In August and September, NYSERDA announced or revised several funding opportunities, which are summarized below. For more information and a complete list of current funding opportunities, please visit the NYSERDA funding website.

PON 2033: Green Jobs Green New York NYS Registered Apprenticeship and Building Trades Training and On-the-Job Training

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is seeking proposals to advance the goals of the Green Jobs Green New York Program (GJGNY) by developing a workforce equipped to implement energy efficiency, weatherization, green building principles, and solar water heating installations. The GJGNY program targets energy efficiency improvements and solar thermal installations for existing residential, multifamily, small business and not-for-profit buildings. The GJGNY Workforce Development initiatives are designed to advance the skills of new and existing workers, provide job-related experience, and help connect new workers to the employers. Call Vicki Colello at 1-866-NYSERDA X3273 or email her at vac@nyserda.org. Due date: 05/31/2012

PON 1059: Business Partners Commercial Lighting Program Incentives

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), as administrator of the New York Energy $mart Program, requests applications for incentives for effective, energy-efficient lighting projects performed by participants in the Commercial Lighting Program ("Program"). These incentives are offered to encourage promotion, design, and implementation of effective, energy-efficient lighting in commercial buildings or spaces. Applications will be accepted from lighting contractors, distributors, designers, architects, engineers, energy services companies ("ESCOs"), interior designers, manufacturer representatives, and other lighting decision makers. Call 1-866-698-8177 or email clp@icfi.com. Due date: 12/30/2011

In August, NYSERDA relaunched the New York ENERGY STAR^® Homes program, making available $14.5 million in incentives for building new homes that are significantly more energy-efficient than required under the New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code. The incentives for home builders will be available through Dec. 31, 2011.

New York ENERGY STAR Homes use less energy, lower costs to consumers, reduce emissions, improve comfort and increase home durability. The program is for newly constructed homes, including single family houses, 2- to 4-unit residences, townhomes or patio homes, and low-rise, multi-unit residential buildings for uses such as senior or family housing, assisted living residences, apartment-style student housing and other.
 
"Energy efficiency is the most effective strategy for decreasing energy consumption," said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. "Many developers across the state are already building above code, so additional costs to meet New York ENERGY STAR Homes' standards can be minimal."

Incentives for builders are $1,500 for homes in the five counties of New York City, Westchester County and eligible territories of Long Island. Additional incentives are available for use of credentialed installers, or for model or display homes.

A $500 affordable housing incentive is also available to homeowners whose household income is equal to or less than 80 percent of state or area median income (whichever is greater). 

For more information about the incentives, see www.NYSERDA.org and look for PON 2309 under Funding Opportunities. For a list of builders partners, see here.

For many New Yorkers, thoughts about the electricity grid don't extend much further than their light switches. This may change soon, however, as major upgrades to the grid are planned that will lower electricity bills and improve reliability.

Taken together, these upgraded technologies are known as the smart grid. In August, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the non-profit organization that manages New York's electricity grid and administers the state's wholesale electricity markets, unveiled a $74 million initiative to upgrade New York's electricity grid with new smart grid technologies.  

Backed by more than $37 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, these technologies will improve the efficiency of the state's bulk transmission system and improve grid operators' visualization capabilities and situational awareness. NYISO also held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $35.5 million primary power control center in Rensselaer County. 

What does it all mean? Visit the Solar One blog for the full story.

Although most of New York City managed to weather Hurricane Irene unscathed, Upstate was not as lucky. Flooding, electricity loss and other damage wreaked havoc on the region and its local farms.

Many farmers lost everything in the ground, while continued flooding has ruined the rest of the harvest season.

GrowNYC has set up a fund to aid these farmers. You can donate here.  

In August, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed The Power NY Act of 2011. Here is a look at how it might affect you:  

• The act provides a new "On-bill" recovery program, which allows homeowners and businesses to take out low-interest loans from NYSERDA for energy efficiency upgrades and then pay them back using a surcharge on their local utility bills. As part of the "Green Jobs/Green New York" program, the "On-bill" initiative will help create thousands of green jobs, result in greater energy efficiencies and lower energy bills for homeowners and businesses across the state.  

• The act creates jobs by encouraging investment in new power plants and energy efficiency retrofits. After years of gridlock, the act provides a new permanent streamlined permitting process for power plants greater than 25 megawatts by creating a "one-stop" multi-agency siting board that will make siting decisions. The new law encourages investments in clean power plants and affords communities more opportunities to meaningfully participate in the siting process. 

• The act empowers communities to participate in the permitting process for power plants by requiring power plant applicants to provide "intervener funding" for the community affected by the proposed plant to hire experts and lawyer.

• The act also improves the environment and public health by requiring the siting board to determine whether a proposed facility will create a disproportionate environmental impact in a community and, if so, requires applicant to minimize or avoid those impact. Moreover, it directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to promulgate emissions standards for carbon dioxide, furthering New York's efforts to address climate change.  

In September, NYSERDA announced the HVAC Partners Program to help commercial and industrial building owners increase the energy efficiency of their rooftop air conditioners. The new program trains heating, ventilation and air conditioner (HVAC) technicians to use advanced diagnostic tools as part of a national standard that improves rooftop air conditioner maintenance.

Depending on the existing condition of the rooftop unit, cooling cost savings can be as high as 30 percent following maintenance using these tools.

The first quality maintenance project under the new program was performed by TAG Mechanical on a 5-ton rooftop unit at Associated Builder & Construction in East Syracuse. Brian Bulriss, TAG's senior technician, used an advanced diagnostic tool that identified a number of issues. Based on the information from the diagnostic tool and the inspection, the contractor corrected the issues, and Associated Builder & Construction is expected to save as much as 20 percent in rooftop air conditioning system operating costs.  

"This program is building an infrastructure of trained HVAC experts who - using advanced diagnostic tools - can help businesses maximize energy savings through their rooftop air conditioners," said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. "Proper maintenance of these systems involves much more than just changing a filter."

NYSERDA's HVAC Partners Program has trained more than 70 contractors across the state to use advanced diagnostic tools so they can provide maintenance on rooftop air conditioners that meet the ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA 180 Standard for Quality Maintenance. The inspection and maintenance tasks outlined in this standard not only improve the commercial HVAC rooftop system performance and efficiency, but also identify procedures to provide healthy air quality and comfortable temperatures.

A list of NYSERDA-approved contractors to provide quality maintenance service is available here.

Students from the Spitzer School of Architecture and the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York traveled to Washington, D.C., from September 23 to October 2 for the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The students, who entered the contest as Team New York, competed against 20 teams, some from as far away as China. The Decathalon challenges teams to design, build and operate cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive solar-powered houses.  

The students built their entry, called "The Solar Roofpod," on the roof of a building on City College's Harlem campus for the past year. They chose the name to emphasize the potential for NYC rooftops to provide real estate for solar power. Recently, The NYC Solar Map found that roughly two thirds of rooftops in the city are suitable for solar panel installations.

Click here to watch an animated walkthrough of the project, and learn the latest about Team New York on its blog.  

The College of Staten Island recently completed energy efficiency upgrades through a New York Power Authority (NYPA) project that will reduce its carbon footprint and result in serious savings.

Photo Credit: New York Power Authority

Improvements to heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, occupancy-sensor installations, and new roofing are expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 4,110 tons annually and lower electricity and fuel costs by more than $900,000 per year. 

Privately owned facilities can also receive energy efficiency incentives from NYSERDA. To learn more, call your E$C Coordinators for more information. 

The $19.8 million energy-saving project began in 2009, targeting CSI's Biological Sciences/Chemical Sciences Building, which includes nine teaching laboratories, research facilities and centers for environmental and neuroscience.

"The newly completed project at the College of Staten Island demonstrates that well designed energy efficiency upgrades are often synonymous with significant utility bill savings, providing strong impetus for investing in the latest technologies," NYPA CEO Richard M. Kessel said.

For more on this story, see the NYPA press release.

The Lower East Side Ecology Center is holding 17 electronic waste ("e-waste") recycling events in all five boroughs in September and October to responsibly recycle unwanted or broken electronics from New York City residents. The dates and locations are listed below along with links to flyers (PDF) for each event. Please use the flyers to help us get the word about the event.

All events will be held rain or shine and will run 10am to 4pm (with the exception of the September 20th event which will run 11am to 7pm).

A list of acceptable materials can be found here and we accept electronics from households and small businesses (less than 50 employees, please call ahead) as well as not-for-profits. We do not accept home appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators, or air conditioners.

A complete schedule is available here.

The Pratt Center for Community Development is hosting the second event of its Green Healthcare Forum series on October 11 from 10am to 12pm. The second workshop in the series will address green operations and maintenance, as well as staff education on sustainability topics.

Energy efficient buildings are only as green as their operators and occupants. Having a facilities management team that knows energy best practices is vital. In addition, educating hospital staff and administration on the little things they can do to will help hospital facilities save energy, reduce waste, and create a safer environment.

Jessica Prata, Corporate Director and Sustainability Officer for New York Presbyterian Hospital, will be the keynote speaker. Stay tuned for a list of panelists!

This workshop is free. Please register here. The forum will be held at Pratt Manhattan. 144 W. 14th Street, Room 213. A light breakfast will be provided at 9:45am  

National Grid offers Energy Efficiency programs for New York City and Long Island existing gas heating and oil-to-gas conversion customers. Our programs are designed to help our residential customers reduce the incremental costs of installing new high efficiency heating equipment, increase annual fuel savings and improve the comfort their home.

National Grid residential Heating and ENERGY STAR^® programs include rebates on high efficiency heating equipment, indirect water heaters, boiler reset controls, thermostats and windows.