The Village of Churchville was recognized earlier this month by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) with a Clean Energy Community designation.
NYSERDA officials say the designation recognizes the village’s leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy in their community.
“Through our participation in the Clean Energy Community initiative, we are able to continue providing methods for energy conservation and increased use of clean energy.” Mayor Nancy Steedman says. “I am very proud of our village for achieving this designation and we remain committed to advancing our clean energy efforts into the future.”
The designation gives Churchville an opportunity to apply for up to $100,000 toward additional clean energy projects, with no local cost share.
To earn the Clean Energy Community designation, the Village of Churchville completed four high-impact clean energy actions.
“There were only four awards of $100,000,” Mayor Steedman says. “Meghan Lodge, clerk/treasurer, Paul Robinson, DPW superintendent, and the Churchville Municipal Electric crew worked tirelessly to complete four of the High Impact Actions that earned the Village of Churchville the Clean Energy Community designation: Benchmarking – we have adopted a policy to report the energy use of municipal buildings on an annual basis; LED streetlights – we converted at least half of the municipal cobra-head-style street lights to LED technology; Unified Solar Permit – we passed legislation to adopt the New York State Unified Solar Permit process and application procedure; and Clean Fleets – we installed an EV charging station for use in the municipal parking lot.”
Mayor Steedman says the village is working on a fifth High Impact Action. “Energy Code Enforcement Training … we have two employees being trained in new energy code enforcement procedures. This will be beneficial to all new developments in the village,” she explains.
The village plans to convert its remaining 214 streetlights to LED technology and restore the lighting of the dam on Black Creek with the $100,000 award, Mayor Steedman says.
The state’s $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiatives supports local government leaders across the state to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities, NYSERDA officials say. The designation is supported by the Finger Lakes Forward initiative, which is the overall regional plan designed to attract a talented workforce, grow business and drive innovation.
There are currently more than 85 Clean Energy Communities across the state.
