Highlights from Recent Meetings
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council Award – Peter Bardaglio
Ithaca-TompkinsCounty Transportation Council: Fernando de Aragón
MAY 2011
New Partners for Smart Growth Conference – Katie Stoner & Peter Bardaglio
Cornell Wind Initiative: Bert Bland (Cornell University)
New York State Electricity and Gas: Tim
Winderl
Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council Award – Peter Bardaglio
- Governor Cuomo awarded $49 million to Southern Tier, which includes Tompkins and seven other counties
- TCCPI proposal for $1 million revolving fund to carry out large-scale institutional and commercial energy upgrades approved as part of this process
- Empire State Development is providing money for the revolving fund and Blue Hill Partners will manage it
Town of Ithaca Energy Action Plan – Katie Stoner
- In 2009, the Town of Ithaca government used 46,548 MMBTus of energy, resulting in 3,928 metric tons of CO2e
- Water use a large contributor to the Town’s overall emissions, in part because water must be pumped uphill using a huge amount of energy
- Water and energy closely linked – huge amounts of water used to cool energy plants, for example
- Michelle Jones: Water IS energy
- 60% of emissions were from electricity use, which highlighted the importance of the potential of solar
- 3,900 tons of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 432 homes using electricity throughout the year, or 699 passenger vehicles
- Half a million dollars per year spent on water and energy associated with it
- Two goals: reduce emissions 30% by 2020 below 2009 levels, and 80% by 2050 below 2009 levels
- The Energy Action Plan is the guiding document to move the town toward these goals
- Short term actions: improve efficiency, thereby reducing demand – requires a low to moderate investment, provides quick return on investment, and produces energy savings that can be reinvested in future projects
- Mid to long-term actions on the supply side: solar PV – seems like the most appropriate first step alternative energy for the town of Ithaca
- Energy efficiency upgrade at water treatment plant, which will eventually pay for itself
- Established extensive actions to be taken in order to reduce emissions and increase efficiency for each subsector of emissions (buildings and facilities, town fleet, water, streetlights and traffic signals)
- Renewables: to start, town will purchase renewable energy credits, as well as potential solar power purchase agreements
- Solar-operated gate to the town hall parking lot, not so much to save a lot of energy but to prove that solar is a reliable source of energy, even in this cloudy area
- Herb Engman: We are trying to institutionalize sustainability in the town of Ithaca, but it does take a long time – next time the planning department makes a round of hiring, Herb hopes they can hire a sustainability planner.
- Martha Robertson: Perhaps Blue Hill could provide financing the retrofitting/upgrade of the water treatment facility
- Herb: How can we get a broader buy-in on these initiatives? Smaller municipalities need to find a way to get involved with efforts like this, but difficult to do all of this without big staff – we hope to create guide to the process for small municipalities
NYSERDA Grant for Electric Car Charging Stations – Peter Bardaglio
- Sites for electric car charging stations being identified – then NYSERDA will provide money for company to install stations
- Wide range of local institutions, companies, and government offices submitting letters of intent as part of this process
Cayuga Medical Center CHP Plant – Lou LoVecchio
- No deal breakers surfaced in feasibility study
- Hospital has set aside significant funding for the next phases, looking at having a biomass boiler
- Trying to accommodate a loop for West Hill developments
- Upcoming meeting to discuss results of feasibility study
Brownfield Application and Sustainability Center – Katie Borgella
- Sustainable Strategies DC has worked with us to submit an application to EPA Brownfield program for funding a feasibility study regarding establishing a CHP plant at Emerson
- Sustainability Center currently recruiting internship opportunities for spring semester – center currently virtual but hope to find physical location in not too distant future
Review of 2011 Goals and Accomplishments – Peter Bardaglio
- Sector representatives will be contacting TCCPI members in January to provide short reports on 2011 accomplishments regarding climate action and clean energy
- We have made significant progress on 2011 goals:
- Feasibility study for potential South Hill district energy system—identify potential energy sources and financing
- More sophisticated efforts to raise profile of TCCPI coalition efforts with state and federal officials
- Explore possibility of Cayuga Medical Center/PRI CHP
- Establish Sustainability Center on The Commons or elsewhere downtown
- Expand media outreach, including Ithaca Journal TCCPI series
- Establish low-interest loan fund for financing residential energy upgrades
- Organize and mobilize countywide energy campaign
- Need to focus on developing support among for-profit large employers and in faith community
- Cathles is professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell – teaches graduate level class at Cornell called Energy and Mineral resources of the Earth
- Class investigated the feasibility and costs of replacing the energy produced by AES Cayuga with solar, nuclear, gas, wind locally
- AES Cayuga: 2 units built in 1955 have combined capacity of 323 MW/a, providing 85-95% of Tompkins County electricity
- Power density: Energy received/produced per unit of space, the amount of land needed to generate a certain amount of energy – for the sun, 1000 w/m2 hits Earth, 15 w/m2 of which is sequesterable.
- Cathles noted that many of his students are enthusiastic about the potential of nuclear, but some at meeting question safety and tech of nuclear
- Group suggested that next time the study should include the potential for energy conservation and how that would subsequently affect the numbers for the respective technologies
- Cathles questioned the economic viability of solar for the region, although some at the meeting noted that the price of solar is projected to decrease by 2/3 in the next 5 years
- Cathles argued that energy conservation will not make much of a dent with the upcoming population boom and development – right now globally we consume about 15 terawatts, but we will need 75 terawatts if all of these future people will have European level of electricity consumption and quality of life – Ed Marx responded that it was not possible or desirable for everyone to be consuming at that level.
- Class ultimately recommended a mix of wind, natural gas and solar for the short term, and a phase out of natural gas for nuclear or renewables for the long term
- Presented his thoughts on old and new clean energy choices for Tompkins County
- A study was done in 1983 on the potential of Six Mile Creek Hydro
- Tradeoffs in using the falls: local energy, but issues with potential disruption of enjoyment of falls. Fall Creek ultimately deemed a ‘wild and scenic river’ so that it could not be used
- Dennise Belmaker: Van Atta dam would still be too expensive/not feasible – city has looked into it recently
- Right now microturbines seem to be the best option – building plant at Van Atta is not usable and would need to be replaced, which would be very expensive
- Taam asked if it might be worth it, and offered that the new building wouldn’t have to be expensive
- According to Taam’s figures, TC solar panels generate 1/100th of what Ithaca Falls could produce
- Some at the meeting questioned his conclusions because inflation since 1983 figures not accounted for
- Ed Marx argued further that numbers need to be normalized, because in reality, in these days, hydro would not be feasible and solar would in fact be more attractive based on projected dramatic decreases in prices
- Taam presented concept of pumped hydro alternative using Cayuga Lake and its surrounding hills
- Katie Borgella asked what kind of energy would it take to pump the water up the hill, and Taam responded that it can be done efficiently, with examples in Denmark and Norway
- One advantage of pump hydro is that you can get the energy on demand versus renewables which have down times when there is not a lot of sun or wind
- We are potentially a good fit for pump hydro because of elevation changes along lake – expensive tunnels required but there is a lot of potential for energy
- GPRO training options: 1) 4 hour course in fundamentals of green buildings which is for building professionals; 2) subsequent trade specific 6-8 hour courses focused on construction management, HVAC management.
- Aims to also reach maintenance, facilities, construction and operations people on board who are really important to getting green building practices implemented
- Gil expects GPRO to pick up steam in the next five years and thinks its certifications may become valuable
- Potential professional development hours for architects as an incentive
- GPRO is needed in some ways because the LEED exam has changed a lot and gotten more exclusive/harder. GPRO also qualifies as intro coursework for LEED qualification
- NYSERDA can reimburse 50% of course expense in some cases
- Finger Lakes region GPRO training should be happening soon (December or early next year)
- If anyone knows of a local institution or group that would be interested please let them know about it
- Firm in Buffalo which offers program to lease solar PV systems for government, non-profits, commercial – 25 kw/building for government and non-profits; for commercial, 50 kw
- 25 kw system for 125/month (fixed) for 15 years and they will install and maintain it, will review your bills with you to make sure you are qualifying and would be realizing the savings
- Savings have averages $100-200 per month
- Liberty Solar is able to do this because of federal and NYSERDA tax credits which virtually cover the cost of hardware, and then the $125 pays them for their time and work for maintaining
- Liberty basically breaks even but they retain renewable energy credits, which they can then sell – federal credit will expire this year and may not be renewed
- If TC went through with this, would to have agreements signed soon – a per building deal
- TC would not get the energy credits, but would be supporting the market and would be saving money. Visibility to the public also sends a good message.
- Thousands of energy savings bags will be distributed to Tompkins residents on October 29
- GYGB involves 60 organizational partners with a focus on saving money by saving energy in the areas of local food, transportation and waste
Tompkins County Energy Options – Larry Cathles, Cornell
Finger Lakes Energy Choices – Milt Taam, Town of Caroline
USGBC-NY Upstate Chapter GPRO Training – Andrew Gil, HOLT Architects
Solar Liberty – Ed Marx, Tompkins County Planning Dept.
Get Your GreenBack Tompkins Update – Dominic Frongillo, CCETC
SEPTEMBER 2011
Ithaca-Tompkins
- Council has had
to scale back many projects due to budgetary constraints
- Zimride, a
rideshare program, is up and running and is open to everyone in the
county. He encouraged employers to inform their employees about this
program as a carpooling option
- The Council is
conducting an EPA regional transportation use study to find out more about
how people get around the county with hopes of reducing the number of cars
coming into the county (15,000 every day)
- Around 80% of
car trips taken in the county are non-commutes, and most of those same
trips are within a travel radius of no more than two miles
- Hopes that an
update can be made to the 5-Year Plan by the end of next year
- Up to $1 million
for regional grant with the same regions as NYSERDA Energy Smart
Communities Program and Regional Economic Development Council
- Goal is to
reduce carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency and renewable energy
use
- Need to identify
consultant as part of application process – deadline for applying is Oct.
31, and will issue RFP to consultants some time next week
- Any application
has to be endorsed by Regional Economic Development Council as part of
review process after Oct. 31
- TC will take
lead on application and will be reaching out to other municipalities for
endorsement, and plan must be written within 8 months for all 8 counties
- Began 3 years
ago, and is a member of the BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living
Economies) network (25,000 members)
- Trying to
revitalize local currency and stimulate local economy, advocates for
policies that will encourage growth of local economy
- The seven BALLE
principles:
- Think Local first
- Increase self-reliance
- Share prosperity
- Build community
- Work with nature
- Celebrate diversity
- Measure what matters
- Michael Shuman speaking at the Space at GreenStar on Wednesday, October 26th about revitalizing local economy and will also be giving a lecture at the CSMA on Oct. 4 at 7:00 pm
AUGUST 2011
Meeting Background Info:
Governor
Cuomo has initiative to establish regional economic development councils.
Tompkins County (TC) is part of Southern Tier council, which is made up of
working groups. Ken S., Ed M., Martha R., Michael Stamm, Bob Howarth a part of
these. They are strategizing on how to leverage TCCPI’s influence to move
conversation towards sustainability and clean energy.
Also collaborating with Blaine Collison of EPA’s Green Power Partnership to explore what we can do in the region around renewable energy.
Green Power
Partnership and Southern Tier Economic Development Council: Ed Marx
EPA, private investors to help expedite and realize our goals in a much shorter time frame. There are already successful models for deploying solar PV based on long-term purchasing contracts that make it profitable for investors. Work with institutions that are trying to hedge against rising energy prices in addition to having goals around GHG emissions reductions and energy savings.
- 30 MW of solar
in 1-2 years is possible here in TC, but answers are still needed for
questions of NYS regulatory requirements
- Main issue is
around the upfront expenses to study and analyze sites; could be funded by
initial partners, or through governor’s $1 billion through economic
development effort; not just one path
- Commercial energy efficiency through Blue Hill, commercial renewables though EPA. Proposal: Set up revolving funds of $500K each to start up energy efficient and renewable energy initiatives to leverage $100 million in private capital. Hope is to bring the proposal to the state through the Southern Tier Economic Development Council. More details on financing can be found in the white paper.
- Ed Marx: Advantage of PV is that it generates the most power during peak power times, which makes it very economically feasible for purchasers
- Peter
Bardaglio:
- General concerns from group members: 3rd party involvement, importance of creating green jobs locally, sourcing PV locally, creating a vibrant landscape for private businesses, etc.
Into the Streets/Get Your Green Back Tompkins: Michael Koplinka-Loehr and Shawn Lindabury
- Using ITS to help launch the “Get Your Green Back Tompkins!” campaign. In preparation of hard launch in November.
- TCCPI members
should be informed and aware of the campaign to ensure success and
mobilize the effort.
- Coming out of TC
planning, recognizing that 2/3 of new development occurring outside of
traditional communities, we are trying to reverse that trend and to
establish new paradigm for rural development, shifting away from rural
sprawl and establishing a stronger identity
- Agriculture,
forestry, renewable energy, tourism and recreation can bring resources and
support to bring economic development, job creation, and a more prosperous
and sustainable economy (as well as higher quality of life and reductions
in GHG emissions)
- Trying come up with a model for the region and to expand it
TCCPI and the TC Chamber of Commerce: Peter Bardaglio
- Brief debate on whether TCCPI should join Chamber in which some argues it would help TCCPI build relationships with the business community, whereas others pointed out that TCCPI might not want to be directly involved unless the local Chamber distanced itself from the national Chamber’s climate denial
JULY 2011
Summer Energy Corps: Dominic Frongillo and Yash Gharat
- Six different efforts:
- Energy teams in different
neighborhoods: 2 in Fall Creek, and one involving Dryden town staff
- Tabling at community events
- Another team worked with
Leadership Tompkins on youth outreach
- Commercial lighting (connecting
local businesses with NYSEG)
- CALS Green (outreach to labs
which are huge energy users)
- Team working with summer camp
and GIAC
- 13 summer Interns facilitated
meetings
- Expanding effort in fall to work
with churches, schools (ex: New Roots) and other organizations
- Dominic: Adam Flint in
City of
- Mayor signed
- Each of City depts. Developed
energy conservation plans in 2005
- City adopted Local Action Plan
(LAP) for local government operations GHG reductions in 2006
- Climate Smart Communities Pledge
in 2009
- Reviewing and organizing all
materials—work on developing sustainability component to website
- Another major task will involve
updating GHG emissions inventory using ICLEI software
- Follow up on department plans for
energy conservation and implement Green Fleet policy
- Would also like to promote
adoption of green building policy and green purchasing policy
- Crafted language for rolling out
energy conservation campaign to different communities and groups in county
- Will announce competition for graphic design contest for campaign logo. TCCPI will provide $750 for contest winner
Green Umbrella: Reed Steberger
- Statewide coalition of young
people holding a training and organizing action event this weekend in
- How can Powershift NY be a
springboard for TCCPI affiliated projects like Energy Corps? How to spread
it to other campuses?
- 25 campuses involved and 7 very involved
JUNE 2011
Countywide Energy Efficiency
Campaign – Katie Stoner
South Hill Task Force – Katie Borgella
- Where might district energy be located on South Hill?
- Peter B. brought the case statement down to DC and shared it with Congressman Hinchey as well as with staff from Schumer and Gillibrand’s office – all promised to write letters of support
- Important to find the right feedstock – also need to keep in mind that the project would be in a neighborhood that has already experienced negative environmental effects so need to be sensitive to concerns
- On-Bill Financing – Ken Schlather
- On-bill financing passed by NY legislature and signed into law by Governor Cuomo on June 22
- Loans for energy upgrades carried out through on-bill financing will go with the house and be subordinate to the mortgage – like a home equity loan but goes with the house if agreed upon by buyer and seller.
- Could be reasonable to assume that with this new on-bill financing that another 200 or so retrofits could be done per year if the workforce is there
- Big opportunity for low-income people to get green jobs, or for minority contractors to benefit
- Would
take about 1700 job years to do all of the needed retrofits in
Ed Marx and Ken Schlather –
Clean Energy Leadership
- Ed: There are coalitions emerging involving local actors who are interested in learning from one another, and there is a lot of benefit to be derived from associating with them
- Ken: Even if the politicians might not be interested in climate change, they are interested in job creation, so you can use that angle with them
- Jobs were created in TC by the stimulus package, which many people in DC didn’t know about – people need to hear success stories
- Ken: Presentations by people who are both new and not new to the scene – it’s clear that a lot of people/communities don’t know where to start
- There isn’t enough information out there for people to draw off of systematically but there are a lot of initiatives out there that can provide helpful models and ideas
Other Updates
- Tristram: The Alternatives Board just approved a new home equity loan project for energy retrofits
- Ken: The executive director of Climate Communities has a copy of the district energy feasibility study proposal, and they are pretty confident that they can secure funding for a feasibility study
- Ken: The data on retrofits and audits suggest that our rate of energy efficiency retrofits is 8 to 9 times higher than the rest of the state
Groundswell Center: Joanna Green, Executive Director
- Need to secure good source and access to healthy affordable food especially urgent as we enter post peak-oil era
- Huge increases in household and community-based food production
- Groundswell catalyst that brings together farmers, faculty, and students
- Three ‘main campuses’: West Haven, King Bird and Northland Sheep Dairy -- will soon expand to 6 core campuses
- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County (CCETC) integrally involved with Groundswell
- Individual and business supporters and new grant from USDA’s new farmer program provide support for Groundswell
- Launched summer practicum last year-- class of 2010 comprised of 14 students from Cornell, Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and non-students w/ instructors from the 3 institutions and community
- Enrollment options: 6 credits or non-credit -- very replicable model
- Ithaca Crop Mob another initiative of Groundswell -- only a little more than a year old, but very successful with 26 events last year
- Very popular with farmers as word about Crop Mob has spread -- have tried to keep Crop mob events to one per month now
- Crop Mobs provided over 1000 hours of farm labor in 2010 -- planting, harvesting, weeding, and building fences
- Finger Lakes CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) another project that Groundswell supports
Youth
Representatives Update: Reed Steberger
- Focusing on hydro racking issues and clean energy at state level
- Looking to make youth involvement in activities such as energy corps replicable model statewide
- Reed serving as interim representative for young people on steering committee
- Working on organizing student reps from each of relevant schools to attend monthly TCCPI meetings
Local Clean Energy
Leadership Summit: Peter Bardaglio
- Peter updated group on TCCPI panel at conference in Washington, DC next month -- organized by Climate Communities
- Ed and Ken will join Peter for session on "The Power of Partnerships"
- Peter in conversation with Andy Seth, executive director of Climate Communities, about forging links between Climate Communities and American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment
- Martha Robertson raised whether hydrofracking should be part of conversation at summit-- also what about PACE?
- Jon Jensen noted increasing coverage of opposition to hydrofracking in media across country
- Also shared recent success with proxy votes at Exxon Mobil and Chevron stakeholder meetings--Park Foundation played key leadership role in mobilizing these votes
Energy Corps 2.0: Dominic Frongillo
- Partnership between CCETC, Park Foundation, and TCCPI to organize students to carry out distribution of info about energy efficiency and available incentives as well as energy assessments
- Goal is to accelerate growth of energy retrofits
- Green Jobs, Green NY will take over fall energy audits
- Four different initiatives this summer:
- Commercial lighting
- In home no cost/low cost support
- Energy teams based on Gershon’s Low Carbon Diet Model
- Partnership with Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) green initiative exploring behavior change with 6 CALS buildings
- Preparing for another Lighten Up Tompkins campaign in October
- Jon Jensen: Park Foundation approved $500K investment in residential loan fund to be administered by the Alternatives Federal Credit Union for energy efficiency retrofits
- Dominic: 66% of students who worked in Energy Corps and graduated have gotten jobs in energy efficiency/clean energy field
- Brian Eden and Herb Engman both raised concerns about need to focus on getting landlords more involved in energy efficiency effort
APRIL 2011
Cornell Presentation to TCCPI
- Kyu Whang presented the 2011 Cornell Partner in Sustainability Award to TCCPI
- Peter Bardaglio shared a few remarks thanking Cornell for recognition as well as the TCCPI steering committee, Park Foundation, and Sustainable Tompkins
Statewide Cornell Cooperative Extension Clean Energy & Climate Protection Efforts: Dominic Frongillo
- Dominic shared various ways in which CCE is working to expand the Tompkins Energy Conservation Corps idea to other communities
South Hill Task Force: Katie Borgella
- TCCPI has focused its effort up to now on reducing demand for energy but also need to address clean energy production
- 10 people from TCCPI have
volunteered to join task force—primary focus is to develop case statement
and secure funding for feasibility study to explore viability of CHP on
South Hill and development of district energy system to provide clean
energy for downtown
EPA Climate Showcase Community Grant: Ed Marx & Liz Walker
- Ed provided update on idea behind EPA grant and goals of project
- TREE project alone will double
number of passive house residences in the
- Will be able to get close to zero carbon footprint thanks to federal and state incentives, inc. NYSERDA, will be able to do this at fairly affordable cost
- Liz noted that not every will be able to have same degree of subsidized support but NYSERDA incentives in place until 2018
Chamber of Commerce and Climate Change : Jean McPheeters, President
- TC Chamber of Commerce has reduced its dues from $2K to $500 as way to express its displeasure with stands that the national Chamber of Commerce has taken
- Jean noted extent to which national Chamber has provided training for local Chamber—also has gone to bat on some important issues for small businesses
- Board of directors will be discussing again issue of relationship with national Chamber
- Jean noted that TC Chamber has sent several letters to national Chamber expressing its opposition to position that it has taken on such issues as energy transition
Local Youth
- Dominic noted that 160 young
people attended Power Shift 2011 in
- Ariana Shapiro from
- Almost 200 youth attended summit, which reinforced their commitment—attended workshops on local food movement, building sciences, etc.
- At end of day marched to City Hall to demand that all public organizations in county take up commitment to 80% by 2050
- Students came back from Power Shift determined to build statewide coalition and network to accelerate transition to clean energy economy
- Offered to become allies of TCCPI and asked for seat on TCCPI steering committee
- Group expressed its strong support of idea of student representative on steering committee
MARCH 2011
Cornell Climate Action Plan: Bert Bland, Director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Office
- Bert reviewed Cornell’s progress on CAP and
accomplishments to date (see 2010 Accomplishments for details)
- Ed shared info about idea of sustainability center: displays, both static and dynamic, about ways in which community is engaged in environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability
- Also would be center of learning for students and
citizens
- In addition, provide space for meetings and possible
offices for projects
- Goal would be to be fully operational within two years
Countrywide
Energy Campaign Update: Dominic Frongillo & Jeff Bercuvitz
- Effort to be as inclusive as possible—reaching out to
groups who have not been included previously
- Would not focus only on energy per se but would also
examine food, transportation, jobs, etc.
- Includes efforts to tie in with "Green Jobs,
- Looking to connect sustainability and social equity
movements
- Development of creative financing and job training key
components
Emerson Project & District Energy: Bruce Abbott, Abbott Lund-Hansen, LLC
- Bruce shared vision of what he called 100-year vision for county's energy future
- Visited
- What would it take to purchase both Emerson & AES
Cayuga?
- Need to be able to provide 5-6% return on investment to
attract investors
- Initially, need roughly $250K to carry out feasibility
study—would provide blueprint to shop around to potential investors
- What would it take to convert AES Cayuga to biomass
power generator? Plasma approach generates zero emissions
- Emerson complex involves 17.5 acres of buildings—could
easily be converted to producing power once clean up issues addressed
- Natural gas could serve as initial energy source while
making transition to biomass
- Should be community investment component
- Potential market of $300-400 million in terms of
electricity/heating consumers
- Bert Bland: feasibility of AES Cayuga very different
from feasibility of Emerson—doubts $250 K could cover both
2011 Priorities
- Feasibility study for district energy system—identify potential energy sources and financing
- Cornell & Ithaca College climate action plans—due Dec 15—community engagement
- More sophisticated efforts to raise awareness of TCCPI coalition efforts with state and federal officials
- Cayuga Medical Center/PRI shared CHP project
- Sustainability Center on The Commons
- Media outreach, including Ithaca Journal TCCPI series
- Financing low-interest loan fund for residential energy upgrades
- Countywide energy campaign
- TC Solid Waste strategic plan for solid waste reduction and diversion—75% within 5 years and 80% within 10 years
- Development of large employee caucus within TCCPI—plan organizing meeting for July
FEBRUARY 2011
- Katie and Peter reported on the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Charlotte
- In the discussion following the presentations, the group discussed the issue of climate adaptation as one that TCCPI should consider
- Jon Jensen suggested that it was another way to frame the climate debate that could possibly attract a broader audience
- Another important direction for TCCPI going forward is the question of social equity and its relationship to climate and energy issues
- Climate adaptation and food are areas where social justice and climate change issues converge
- Lou LoVecchio – Cayuga Medical Center
- West Hill district energy feasibility study: CMC partnering with PRI/Museum of the Earth
- Working with NYSERDA Flex Tech program
- Had scoping meeting w/ NYSERDA and determined that CMC and PRI would be the focus of the study
- They could then develop a second proposal about how to build on this to provide an energy district for a potential West Hill village
- Andrew Gil – HOLT
- HOLT has signed the American Institute of Architect’s 2030 commitment, which obligates them to examine the work they put out for construction as well as address internal operations in terms of sustainable design
- See http://www.aia.org/about/initiatives/AIAB079458 for further details about the AIA 2030 commitment
- Dominic Frongillo – Cornell Cooperative Extension, Tompkins County
- The six towns sharing a facilities energy manager will be hiring very soon, and the City of will also be hiring a new sustainability coordinator soon
- Continuing to work on relationship building for the countywide energy campaign (reaching out to communities of color, transportation, food, waste)
- TECC model being deployed in three other communities outside of Tompkins County
- Katie Stoner – Town of Ithaca and Dryden
- Town of Dryden has completed its baseline sustainability study and the Town of Ithaca greenhouse gas emissions report has been finished
- Tristram Coffin – Alternatives Federal Credit Union
- Working on financing to support energy efficiency programs, help people do improvements to get energy savings
- Also working with INHS, figuring out how to segment the market given all the different programs that are out there
- Dan Roth – Cornell University
- Kicking off a new initiative next week for 10 campus-wide teams to help implement the university’s sustainability action plan Led by faculty and staff with student participation
- Bert Bland – Cornell University
- Cornell received EPA Energy Star award for the new CHP
- Operating at 80% efficiency for the past year
- Two coal boilers will soon be obsolete, looking for biomass fuel and pelletized wood
- Ken Schlather – Cornell Cooperative Extension, Tompkins County
- CCETC has received a Park Foundation grant to develop a commercial lighting marketing plan for the county Binghamton scaling up energy corps model
- Binghamton also interested in possibility of developing a TCCPI-like organization
- Submitted proposal to NYSERDA through Green Jobs for outreach, partnering with Binghamton
JANUARY 2011
- Looking at small scale wind, with some of sites local and others statewide at Cornell facilities
- Cornell has issued opportunity notice, indicating they are looking to talk with neighborhoods, farms, communities
Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future: Mark Lawrence, Director of Communications
- Faculty fellows: 220 in 55 departments—another 250 to 300 faculty doing research on some aspect
- Atkinson Center seeks to amplify work of faculty
- Seeks to put together interdisciplinary teams of faculty
- Primary focus is on campus research but developing stronger ties with Cornell Cooperative Extension
Waste Diversion: Barb Eckstrom (Tompkins County Solid Waste Management)
- County’s first 20 yr plan established in 1991—achieved 50% waste reduction rate, now runs at 60%
- Will be looking to strengthen “pay as you go” program where people only pay for what they throw out
- Seeking to achieve 75% diversion rate by 2015 and 85% by 2030—new 20 yr plan
- New plan will take into account GHG emissions, energy issues, and carbon footprint Will exceed goals of overall county climate and energy plan Will be moving into single stream recycling with new contract that begins in February
- New recycling center will be able to generate new sources of revenue by focusing on commercial and institutional sectors, also will be able to recycle construction materials
- TC Solid Waste looking at different models of diversion credits and rebates Will also be devoting efforts to product stewardship, working w/ companies to develop better products
- Working on outline of new solid waste plan, which is due by end of year
Countywide Energy Campaign: Dominic Frongillo and Jeff Bercuvitz
- Full group meeting in October to launch thinking about county-wide campaign
- Smaller group then began meeting regularly to develop messaging and strategy
- Jeff asked group to think of organizations and businesses that aren’t normally included in such efforts
- At very early stages of planning—looking to engage low-income families and communities of color
- Stressed importance of empowerment in such campaigns—how do we get everyone involved?
- Four main components to campaign:
- Broad call to action
- Peer-to-peer messaging and recognition effort: “everyday heroes”
- Website: helping people take steps
- Community building initiatives w/ partners
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
- Utilities need to help the state achieve the 15x15 goals (reduce electricity consumption by 15% within 15 years by rolling out programs to incentivize energy efficiency measures for residents, businesses, commercial facilities, and institutions
- NYSEG
investing millions to improve infrastructure and reliability NYSEG
has been working with the Public Service Commission (PSC) to develop programs;
several levels:
- Residential—gas rebate program. Residential sector is where NYSEG has had the most participation and they will continue to focus their efforts there
- Multifamily apartment buildings
- Small business incentive – “Small Business Energy Efficiency Program;” businesses using less than 100 KW yearly are eligible for a free lighting assessment with up to 70% of recommended upgrades financed by NYSEG
- Commercial/Industrial
- New
SC4 rate for municipalities
- Allows municipalities to change from high pressure sodium to LEDs; municipalities take over the maintenance NYSEG has internal sustainability program to decrease energy consumption in their facilities and fleet
Update
on Green Jobs/Green New York legislation: Stacey Murphy (Tompkins Community
Action)
- October 2009 legislation promotes energy efficiency, reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reductions; supports sustainable development and creates jobs
- Free
and reduced fee audits
- 10% rebate on cost of improvements, up to $3,000
- Can’t be used with EnergySmart Loan, AHP, list of approved measures
- Residential loan – replacing Energy Star loans after 1/15/11
- Green Jobs
The
Clean Tech Economy in Tompkins County: Pat Govang (e2e Materials)
- Wood products account for 60% of deforestation, 40-50 years left in global supply of wood
- E2e seeks to change and restructure products and the way things are made, decreasing energy consumption in products
- E2e products are made from soy flowers and grass fibers-- materials biodegrade in 6 months
- Wood products represent a $65 billion industry – huge market opportunity
- They are building first products production set-up in and have their first big client on the West Coast
- In upstate NY, 200+ people employed by e2e; more of these facilities are located around the world, goal is to grow products nearby manufacturing facilities
Cornell Center for Technology and
Commercialization (CCTEC): Laura Cima, Economic Development Manager
- Research projects rolled out as companies/start-ups; look for local companies to license technologies to
- When technologies don’t have entrepreneurs to run with it, their office has staff to act as CEO, go out and find investors and financing
- CCTEC rolled out 12 companies last fiscal year, on track to exceed that this year
Tompkins Area Development (TCAD): Michael Stamm, President
- Mission is to create quality employment opportunities for local residents
- Services include business planning, site location, financing
- Work with accounts, lawyers and other professionals to provide free advice to start-ups
- Cayuga Venture Fund: provides start-up capital, invests in companies, helps attract larger investors from outside sources
- Make direct loans to business
OCTOBER 2010
Enfield Community Wind Project: Eric Banford
& Marguerite Wells (Enfield Community Wind)
- Major barrier is finding
financing for project-- $90-110 million
- Not financially feasible to put
up isolated turbines at different locations
- Important to keep jobs and energy
in community
- Original plan was for 20 2.5 MW
turbines permitted for this setup—somewhat fluid depending on when
financing finally comes through and who provides it
- Low price of energy right now
makes it difficult to case for any kind of renewable energy
- Also federal tax credit (30%) due
to expire at end of this year
- What about nonprofit
organizations that would generate community owned power?
Pedestrian
Oriented Development: Rob Morache (New Earth Strategies)
- Critical mass is key to
feasibility of nodal development
- Proximity another key factor
- People need to want to
walk—distance one factor—sense of identified space and interest experience
important
- Node provides “journey” not just
getting from one point to another
- Expansion of suburbs
w/ rise of cars and interstate highway system made problem even worse
- Buses alone won’t
solve problem of traffic on Rt. 96—need dedicated transit like trolley to
siphon off congestion
Update on Countywide Energy Efficiency Campaign: Dominic Frongillo (TC
Cornell Cooperative Extension)
- Very successful
meeting yesterday—about 20 people—Jeff Berkuvitz facilitated
- Reached tipping point
in terms of ideas for how to proceed
- Lots of people at
table who haven’t been traditionally
SEPTEMBER 2010
Airport
Sustainable Master Plan: Bob Nicholas (
- First
green master plan for any
- FAA provided support for the planning and is very enthusiastic about concept
- Air quality, energy conservation, noise abatement, water quality, land and resource management among factors taken into account
- Sustainability priorities: 1) maximize existing facilities first; 2) build as a last resort and as sustainably as possible
- Along with more traditional initiatives such as expanded parking, additional de-icing pads, and more space for the TSA, recommended sustainability initiatives include: 1) electric vehicle charging points; 2) compressed natural gas fueling station; 3) ground power for GA aircraft; 4) photovoltaic panels; 5) enhanced recycling programs, and 6) green procurement guidelines
- Community outreach an important component in the planning process – planners worked closely with Cornell, IC, and other similar organizations and institutions
- Two classes each from Cornell and IC participated in the planning – they provided a great source of “out-of-the-box” ideas
- The students researched a variety of sustainability initiatives and options for the airport – developed reports and presentations on such topics as LEED EB certification and landscaping
- Lessons learned: 1) sustainability must be integrated and considered in every decision; 2) there must be a complete inventory/baseline before establishing goals; 3) there has to be centralized data collection, and 4) the advisory committee should be kept small and diverse
- PowerPoint presentation for the airport’s green plan can be found here.
Geothermal
Energy: Adam Patterson (Independent Green Energy) & Randal Palach (NextEnergy)
- Geothermal has major upfront
costs but is more economical over the long run– so why not spread the
upfront costs over a long period of time?
- The amount of geothermal installed
so far is the equivalent of 1.1 million cars so far
- With a conventional system, 64%
of energy use involves heating and cooling
- The NextEnergy system can add up
to 19 LEED points to a project
- Ninety-five percent of geothermal
systems are either horizontal or vertical – horizontal systems are 50%
less expensive than vertical
- Barriers to acceptance are: 1)
expense vs. recapture – home resale; 2) complicated contractor procedures;
3) varied opinions among contractors, and 4) early adoption of an
expensive addition can cost up to $40K for some homes
- Only get back about $3-4K with
resale of home
- Earthpoint approach implements
geothermal as a utility: it owns the outside loop system and charges fixed
access costs
- The homeowner can apply subsidies
to the inside components
- Earthpoint is going through the
process of becoming a public utility in NY, PA, ME and NJ
- They have installed the system in
50 million homes in the
AUGUST 2010
INHS Commitment to Sustainability: Paul Mazzarella (Executive Director, INHS)
- Paul Mazzarella (INHS) presented to the group on the INHS Commitment to Sustainability
- INHS is dedicated to sustainability in community development and housing
- 3 major programs:
- Lender (home sales and repairs) – facilitated the purchase of 700 homes for 1st-time homebuyers, most of whom were low income
- Real estate developers – renovate dilapidated buildings and sell to 1st-time homebuyers; also building some new homes
- Property management
- Sustainability principles:
- Preservation of existing housing
- Healthy neighborhoods
- Long-term housing affordability
- Smart growth
- Green housing
- Constant experimentation
- Sustainable organization
- Strategic initiatives:
- Increase production of new housing units
- Improve long-term affordability and sustainability of housing
- Expand reach throughout Tompkins County
- New housing development:
- Compatible with existing character of neighborhoods
- Energy efficient
- Adhere to smart growth principles
- Everything new is “green”
- Energy Star
- LEED
- Education:
- Homebuyer workshops
- Contractor workshops
- Home manual for new homeowners
- Research and Innovation:
- SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) technology
- Smart metering
- Looking at zero energy home
- Making existing homes energy efficient:
- INHS is first community development organization to become a NYS Energy Smart lender
- Working with Cooperative Extension on pellet stove pilot: identifying 25 homes with outdated propane/heating oil systems and replacing with pellet systems
Roundtable Updates
- Katie Stoner (TCCPI) and Shawn Lindabury (CE) updated the group on efforts to design a county-wide energy efficiency campaign aimed at tying together multiple e.e. efforts and to promote the County’s Energy Stategy and bringing the public into the process
- First meeting of initial stakeholders to take place this September, more details to follow.
- Peter Bardaglio (TCCPI) and Jon Jensen (Park Foundation) hope to visit Oberlin, OH this fall to further consult with David Orr on community sustainability initiatives
- Anyone interested in joining should contact Peter at: pbardaglio@gmail.com
- The Park Foundation will hold forums on LEED and Energy Star for non-profits interested in undergoing energy efficiency retrofits
- They are looking for anyone who can contribute to or present at this forum; contact Park Foundation.
- Tompkins County Area Development providing funds from their revolving loan fund to high-tech/green/sustainable businesses to encourage businesses to stay in the area and create jobs
- Marian Brown (Ithaca College): Clean Energy Summit “Re-imagining Upstate New York’s Energy Future,” Ithaca College, Friday, September 17,2010 9am – 11am
- Stacey Murphy (Tompkins Community Action): TCA received grant to incorporate renewables into their retrofit services
- Waiting list for weatherization services is currently very short
- Ken Schlather (Cooperative Extension): Pursuing pilot program to collect data on set of residents/houses who switch from high cost fossil-fuel-based heating systems to wood pellet systems
- Two year program – collect data on energy use for all housing types/sizes, document people’s experiences in order to share out and develop the market for wood pellet heating
- Tristram Coffin (Alternatives Federal Credit Union): Provided more than $920,000 in green loans this year, 14% of their overall production for energy efficiency retrofits, LEED homes, hybrids, organic farms, etc.)
- Bruce Abott (Abott-Lund Hansen): Chamber of Commerce endorsed district energy; County submitted HUD grant which might provide funding to study district energy applications in various nodes in Tompkins County
- Liz Walker (EcoVillage at Ithaca): Being featured in “Eco-heroes” documentary on October 8th, new book, “Choosing a Sustainable Future,” coming out in November
- Michelle Jones (Ithaca College): IC is undergoing campus-wide assessment of building and pursuing LEED Existing Building on renovations in addition to 3 buildings for LEED New Construction
- Lou LoVecchio (Cayuga Medical Center): Pursuing LEED for new lab; EPA survey for energy use in the healthcare sector will show results of comparable group of healthcare facilities (20+) from across the country
- CMC diverted 17,000 pounds of plastic from the landfill by changing the way they use sharp containers
- Shawn Lindabury (Cooperative Extension): Working with 13 Energy Corps students this year; now have 125 leaders in Tompkins County; increasing their outreach
- Gay Nicholson (Sustainable Tompkins): Reminder: Bioneers Conference coming up October 22nd-24th – more details to follow
JULY 2010
Cornell CHP Tour Opportunity and Steering Committee Terms: Katie Stoner (TCCPI Staff)
- Ed Wilson (Cornell) will be leading a tour of the Combined Heat and Power plant for TCCPI members. Members must RSVP to Katie Stoner at: katherinestoner@gmail.com
- The Steering Committee recently discussed term limits for Steering Committee members and the following policy is tentatively in place (pending any feedback from that group that is received before the August 27th meeting, at which time the policy will become official):
- One term is 2 years (representatives must commit to serving the 2 year term upon acceptance of nomination)
- Steering Committee members may serve up to 2 consecutive terms of 2 years each
- After a maximum of 2, 2-year terms, representatives must take 1 year off before beginning a 3rd term
- Any questions or comments can be directed to Katie Stoner at: katherinestoner@gmail.com
Energy Efficiency Survey Results: Casey Mastro (ASI Renovations)
- Casey Mastro (ASI Renovations) reported out on the results of the survey on energy efficiency knowledge and practices distributed to members of the Landlords Association of Tompkins County
- Of the 46% landlords that took energy efficiency measures, only 6 underwent BPI audits (which means that the majority are not taking advantage of statewide incentives – which require BPI audits)
- Dominic Frongillo (Cooperative Extension) presented on CE’s work on engaging renters and tenants in energy efficiency while examining barriers to population and action
- Primary barriers include:
- Lack of basic understanding of energy efficiency, as well as the steps necessary to get started and undergo the process
- Lack of trust
- Lack of social support (i.e. peer networks to discuss decisions with, get feedback, share stories, etc.)
- Split incentives are the crux of the issue: no one has the incentive, and no one has to responsibility to bear the costs of energy efficiency improvements
- Other issues include lack of knowledge and communication on the part of the landlord
Collegetown Student Renters Survey Results: Clay Munnings (Cornell Cooperative Extension)
- Clay Munnings (Cornell Cooperative Extension) presented on the Collegetown tenant survey (about 30 student renters were surveyed)
- Students would be willing to pay $23/month extra to have an apartment that is 100% comfortable, but that many students felt resentment toward their landlords. Additionally, many students expressed a sense of entitlement.
- 90% of student renters cited communication barriers/challenges with their landlords (including issues related to negligence and dishonesty)
- Anecdotal findings suggested that neither landlords nor tenants truly understand energy efficiency
- The lack of communication and trust coupled with the lack of knowledge are major barriers that prevent both groups from implementing energy efficiency improvements and/or making behavior changes
- From this anecdotal research, it’s clear that there is an educational role that CE can and will continue to play
- Next steps include taking the leadership model and applying it to the tenant/landlord situation
- This is a more complex, cumbersome scenario that takes longer
- Just launched pilot program with Frost Travis and 6 other members of the LATC to test this model (CE has completed half of these energy analyses – they made sure to emphasize that these are not BPI-audits but rather serve to give people a sense of what they might find if they did have an audit, and to connect them to the people who can do the work in the community)
- Take away: landlords are generally uneducated when it comes to energy efficiency, but receptive to learning and interested in the powerful incentives and programs that exist
Energy Efficiency Efforts and Landlord/Tenant Relations: Joe Laquatra (Cornell University)
- Joe Laquatra (Cornell professor) presented on the challenges, barriers, and opportunities for landlord/tenant energy efficiency efforts
- Research shows that messages emphasizing the amount of money lost due to energy waste is more effective in getting people to act rather than emphasizing what will be saved
- 48% of energy used in buildings can be cut by 2/3 without inventing anything new
- Solutions in the long-run include increasing tenant demand for energy efficiency
- Need to mend the split incentive
- Educational Opportunities:
- LATC, CE could work together to do 3rd party verification of “green” apartments that have undergone energy efficiency improvements and audits
- Marketing push – drive student renters to more efficient apartments
- ASI could hold seminars for contractors, work with Cornell/IC to direct students to efficient apartments (decide on housing before moving to Ithaca – create a website to help them make good decisions)
- With student renters, the question of when to address this issue remains: before they become renters – during orientation? Or after their freshmen year when they start moving off campus
- Important to note differences between undergrad and graduate students (behavior and motivations)
- Apply a score (maybe using COMPASS) to properties that will be advertised as green properties
- WA/OR is looking at making energy labeling a mandate
- Major issues related to the time-consuming nature of working with landlords (Energy Corps program)
- There is a need for case studies of successful energy efficiency projects that can help educate others about the benefits of this work
JUNE 2010
Outreach Working Group Report: Gary Stewart (Cornell University), chair
- Gary Stewart presented a detailed report on the activities and goals of the outreach group
- Members are Sharon Anderson, Katie Borgella, Dominic Frongillo, Rob Ross, Dan Roth, and Katie Stoner
- Gary shared his various efforts to create opportunities for TCCPI to get the word out about its goals and activities, including meetings and discussions with WXXI, WHCU, Tompkins Weekly
- Discussed concept of a sustainability-themed initiative involving the Discovery Trail
- Next step: create viable longterm media/communications plan
Upcoming Grant Opportunities: Katie Borgella (Tompkins County Planning)
- Katie Borgella reviewed several upcoming grant opportunities, including the EPA Climate Showcase Communities grant, which spurred a discussion around potential collaborations between the County and EcoVillage at Ithaca.
Impact of Marcellus Shale Drilling: Martha Robertson (Tompkins County Legislature), Tony Ingraffea (Cornell University), and Bob Howarth (Cornell University)
- Martha Robertson, Tony Ingraffea and Bob Howarth presented on the potential impact of Marcellus Shale drilling on GHG emissions in Tompkins County:
- Legislation has been introduced in Albany to put a moratorium on drilling; Westchester Co. just passed a bill calling for a moratorium, joining Tompkins, Onandaga, and Cortland counties and two other counties
- Provided series of slides with maps outlining what patterns of drilling would look like in Marcellus areas of NY
- Pointed out the energy consumption over the past eight years has leveled off, raising the question of whether we need more total energy production
- The other question is whether gas is the best answer – certainly not the only answer
- Natural gas may emit only half of GHG of coal when burned but how much is emitted during the process of production?
- Fossil Fuels are becoming increasingly more diffuse and difficult to obtain
- Carbon sequestration lost when sites cleared
- Combustion at sites is bigger problem = mud pumps, generators, compressors, etc. – mobile combustion also a significant contributor via trucks
- Methane doesn’t hang around as long as CO2 but is far more potent than GHG (72 fold more effective than CO2 over 20 year period)
- Methane leaks from pipeline, etc. and is very difficult to estimate
- Current technology doesn’t even measure leaks lower than 5%
MAY 2010
Presentation of Tompkins County 2020 Energy Strategy: Katie Borgella (Tompkins County Planning)
- Katie Borgella presented the Tompkins County 2020 Energy Strategy to the group, focusing on an overview of the 10 local initiatives that the County will undertake to reach reduction targets.
- She asked the group to consider whether these initiatives represent the appropriate areas to focus on, and to think about what the important next steps are:
- PACE
- Waste Diversion
- Energy Business Partnership Program
- Traffic Demand Management
- Alternative Fuel Vehicles
- County Government Energy Policy
- County Facility Energy Improvements
- Biomass for Rural Homes
- District Heating Feasibility Study
- Energy Roadmap
- Critical question: How do we raise public awareness about the plan at both regional and national levels?
- Gary Stewart volunteered to take the lead on the effort, forming a task force to work on PR/outreach for the County Energy Strategy as well as finding ways to give TCCPI more public exposure
- The group discussed the possibility of a collaboration between the Museum of the Earth, the Sciencenter, the History Center, the Discovery Trail, and TCCPI to showcase the local response to climate change
- For promotion of County Energy Strategy, look at what other counties are doing as a way to set Tompkins County apart
- Make use of County Public Information staff
PACE Letter of Support and Energy Benchmarking: Katie Stoner (TCCPI Staff)
- TCCPI will submit a letter of support in favor of the passage of PACE legislation
- Update provided on the Energy Benchmarking Pilot, focusing on the overall resistance to the project and the challenges associated with measuring progress towards the 2050 goal/raising public awareness
- Different needs, different tools
- What we really need: NYSEG participation – get energy data on utility bill
- Should we be focusing efforts on state level activities to get NYSEG involved – PSC?
- How to collect data for homes that work with small independent fuel companies like Ehrhard Oil and Propane?
- Need to get a better sense of what other communities are doing
Roundtable Updates
- Carol Warshawsky noted that ICSD is projecting significant decrease in energy bill: $435K savings
- ICSD will be buying four more buses, which will be more energy efficient (clean diesel?)
- Jon Jensen shared news about Exxon shareholders’ vote on Marcellus Shale resolution, which Park Foundation initiated: 26% support – first-time environment votes usually average about 5%
- Marian said student-completed annual GHG emissions surveyed 5% drop last year – twice as much as target
- Carol Eckert announced that INHS has completed its fifth LEED platinum house; looking for LEED platinum for the Women’s Community Building project
- Barb Eckstrom reported that Tompkins County is one of the counties in the US included in a new book by UN on global waste
- Discussion underway about how to make Enfield Wind Project a community project – starting off with six to twenty turbines
APRIL 2010
The Importance of Net Energy: Katie Stoner (TCCPI Staff)
- Katie Stoner presented a summary and discussion of the Richard Heinberg piece focused on net energy: “Searching for a Miracle: ‘Net Energy’ Limits and the Fate of Industrial Society.”
- Heinberg points out that the dominant economic growth model is based on an assumption of cheap fossil fuel
- With the approach of peak oil, however, we need to come to grips with the reality of limits on growth
- Need to reduce our energy consumption; not going to be able to avoid fundamental change as we go forward
- Energy payback: how long until system produces as much energy as was invested in it to operate the system (solar panels)
- Oil in the 1940s was the heyday of fossil fuels and produced ERGE of 100: 1; about 1:1 today
- Full cost accounting is critical to developing a viable solution for the energy dilemma we face today
- Everything will have cost and impact but if the choice leads to impacts greater than those we already have to deal with, especially in the area of GHG emissions, then we need to question the viability of the choice
- New conservation ethic needs to replace unlimited growth mentality
- Solutions are more viable if the reduction of energy demand is out of the mix
- True cost accounting, relocalization, transition food systems, new measures for GDP that reflect human welfare – all these will be crucial to building sustainable future
- Need to ratchet down consumption as a critical factor moving forward – this should be a focus of TCCPI’s mission
Energy and Carbon Solutions for Ithaca: Simon Taranto (Cornell Student)
- Simon Taranto (Cornell students) presented to the group on energy and carbon solutions for Ithaca, with a focus on district energy
- Distributed generation: use of many small generation facilities
- Combined heat and power: co-generation – CHP plant reduces wasted energy from 60 % to 20%
- CHP comprises 9% of US generation capacity – roughly equivalent to taking 45 million cars off the road
- Can run CHP on many different fuels – 70% natural gas currently at Cornell
- Proposed Emerson DG/CHP District in Ithaca would be community owned – Emerson Transmission building would be converted
- Heat output would be about 7 million square feet of thermal heat
- Would it make sense to establish a blue ribbon task force and pass legislation to establish an energy improvement district?
- Important time to consider moving in this direction
- Herb Engman floated the idea of converting the Emerson plant to CHP – lots of interest in using the property for residential development
- Bruce Abbot has submitted a proposal to the city that was developed by a Danish firm
David Orr's Upcoming Visit: Peter Bardaglio (TCCPI Staff)
- David Orr will be visiting Ithaca May 6th and 7th. Events include:
- Public lecture at the Borg-Warner Room of the County Library on Thursday evening
- Friday morning will meet with faculty and students at New Roots Charter High School
- Cayuga Medical Center is hosting a luncheon for David, TCCPI members, and other invited guests from the Ithaca Community following the New Roots visit
- Tour of the new Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise and Peggy Ryan Williams Center at Ithaca College
MARCH 2010
Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Rental & Commercial Properties: Johnson Controls
- Donna Benwitz, Paul Rode and Mark Turner of Johnson Controls provided the group with an overview of the services offered by JCI and the energy efficiency retrofit projects currently underway in Tompkins County
- The Tompkins County Planning department emphasized the need for the passage of legislation that will enable loans at the local level – PACE, which is being introduced in April and if passed, will allow municipalities to move beyond federal grants
- Paul mentioned that the mortgage industry hates PACE because mortgages take junior positions to the PACE loans – PACE has to be paid off first
- Lynette Chappell-Williams (Cornell) and Gillian Gutierriez (Women’s Bureau, US DOL) provided the group with an overview of various flexible work options at Cornell: flex time, job share, reduced hours, flexplace/telecommute/remote work, compressed work week as well as the benefits and challenges associated with flexible work options
- Goals of flex options (from Women’s Bureau US DOL) are to increase the understanding of benefits for employers and employees, which include retention of employees as well as a way to promote sustainability
Roundtable Updates
- ICSD is meeting with JCI to discuss energy efficiency work, and will probably undertake projects beginning next year. ICSD is also discussiong flexible work options
- Ithaca College has two more residential halls that will become Energy Star eligible. The new business school building just completed a one year analysis and it is running 41% below the national average
- The new building for the Town of Caroline is using geothermal
- The Park Foundation approved the extension of Cooperative Extensions Education program grant to the Ithaca Housing Authority and visited a hydrofracking site in PA
- Katie Borgella said they will be bringing latest draft of the county’s latest 2020 energy strategy to the next meeting
- Several towns have received NYSERDA grants totaling about $2 million – Dryden, Town of Ithaca, City of Ithaca, Lansing
- Binghamton is the last coal fired campus in the state
- Cornell’s Life Sciences Building will receive NYSERDA award for energy efficiency performance on April 21
JANUARY 2010
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15): Dominic Frongillo
- Notable takeaways include:
- Youth movement is unprecedented and burgeoning (100,000 students marched, delivered petition containing more than 15 million signatures calling for action)
- State and local governments are driving policy and action at the federal level – highlighted the importance of what we’re doing in Tompkins County
Pilot Program for Residential Energy Tracking: Dominic (Cornell Cooperative Extenions, Tompkins County)
- TCCPI is moving forward with the residential energy tracking pilot program using two software tools side-by-side: Earth Aid and Compass.
- The program will run for approximately three months at which point the group will reconvene to assess and analyze the outcomes of the program and determine action steps for moving forward. Long term strategies include working towards providing everyone in the county with this data, ideally through the utility.
Draft County Energy Strategy: Leslie Schill (Tompkins County Planning & Public Works)
- Leslie presented the draft of the “Energy Strategy” for implementing the Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Element of the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
- Members of TCCPI were called upon to provide feedback, comments, and suggestions to aid in the finalization of the draft, which is set to be ready for adoption by early summer 2010.
- The first big push in the overall 80% by 2050 GHG emissions reduction goal,
- The “Tompkins County 2020 Energy Strategy” is intended to achieve the initial milestone of a 20% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020.
Finger Lakes Climate Fund Sean Vormwald (Sustainable Transitions)
- Finger Lakes Climate Fund (still in development stages), is set to launch in approximately one month.
- The FLCF is providing businesses, organizations, institutions, and citizens the opportunity to purchase carbon offsets (for the home, car travel, and air travel) that will reinvest money into a fund that will provide grants to local energy efficiency projects.
- Example projects include residential energy projects for low to middle income residents in Tompkins County, and the fund will help to pay for insulation, air sealing, heating system upgrades, and other measures to reduce energy consumption.
- The program is modeled after several climate funds whose focus is on keeping money local by funding local projects.
Other News and Updates from Members:
- City of Ithaca has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 20% from 2001 levels by 2016.
- New Cayuga Medical Center building received LEED Silver certification (first medical facility in the state to acquire LEED Silver.
- Alternatives Federal Credit Union reduced utility bills by $9000 and energy consumption by 20%.
- The Park Foundation contributed $600,000 to programs and projects dealing with the Marcellus Shale issue.
- The Ithaca City School District has created a green team for each building, has successfully implemented a composting program, and is seeking funding to complete energy efficiency upgrades on existing buildings
- TC3 has started to inventory their energy consumption, installed solar array, and is starting to offer solar/wind installation training as part of its curriculum
- PRI is working on a manuscript for a climate change book
- Ithaca College is working on the implementation strategy for their Climate Action Plan
- Ithaca Car Share is adding an educational component to their program offerings
- Performance Systems is providing Sustainable Tompkins with access to Compass for use in the Marcellus Challenge program.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
- Jerone Gagliano of Performance Systems Development presented on “Energy Audits and the Homeowner,” sharing with the group the technical side of residential energy efficiency work and the typical opportunities and challenges faced in working with the homeowner to provide a positive, beneficial experience. Jon Harrod of Snug Planet contributed to the presentation.
- Dominic Frongillo updated the group on the proposed pilot program to assess energy tracking software tools for residential energy tracking and monitoring (Earth Aid and Green Energy Compass). The program is set to launch in February 2010 and will entail a three month side-by-side comparison of each tool, used by ~40-60 coalition members.
OCTOBER 2009
Landlords Association of Tompkins County: Herbert Dwyer (President, LATC; CEO, ASI Renovations)
- Two ways to get landlords to act:
- Carrot: economic, creative financing options (this is preferable and highly encouraged!)
- Stick: law, mandate (not our most effective took for mobilizing landlords)
- About 100 members with average of 40-60 properties each
- Energy efficiency and energy audits are costly to landlords, especially when they own multiple properties; start by:
- Identifying properties where landlord pays for heat
- Targeting small-scale landlords
- Don’t finance on the backs of taxpayers
- Taking advantage of the fact that buildings (and landlords) are aging; new generation coming into the picture in the next 5, 10 years as properties change hands – major opportunity…put a package together now to make buildings more efficiency
- LATC is interested in exploring a partnership with TCCPI in order to work on this issue together
- Major Barriers include:
- NYSERDA MPP changed (not as beneficial anymore)
- Small margin, small capital budget to begin with – any expenditures go toward major priorities (apt. destroyed, furnace/roof replacement, etc.)
- Debt to income ratio; making energy improvements requires landlords to take out loans, which makes it harder to acquire more properties (more properties is more security and success for the landlord) *assessment would be more appealing that loan
- Ed and Katie are working with Barbara Lifton to draft language for a bill that would enact policy to extend energy efficiency programs to businesses and commercial properties in addition to residential homeowners
- Landlords like to keep things as simple as possible – energy efficiency creates more work, more complexity in their day-to-day operations
- There will be a group of early adopters within the LATC who will jump on this, the rest will follow
- Begin by targeting students/young people (who, statistically speaking, use more resources and energy than any other demographic)
- Opportunity for LATC to partner with Cornell to educate landlords about occupant behavior and how to incentive/reward positive behavior related to energy consumption
- We need to make landlords’ role clear in the energy efficiency challenge
- Green certification for landlords? Green rating for rental properties?
Bruce Abbott: Cogen District Heating Options for Tompkins County
- Working to create a self-sustaining energy economy in TC – green jobs, green ecomony, energy efficiency
- Developing multi-family units (Cornell competition) for Cornell employees – quality, affordable, sustainable housing on campus (therefore, must fit in with carbon neutrality goal)
- District heating/cogeneration –rather than one building one boiler – is a way to accomplish this feat using natural gas and other biomass fuel sources
- Working with Danish Board of District Heating to learn and build relationship – hoping to get them to collaborate with TC (visiting the area to do assessment and advice)
- Many sensible/viable opportunities for the use of district heating in the city (police office, library, parking garages, etc.) – costs taxpayers $5 million/annually to pay for electricity – these buildings could be tied together through district heating
- Case Study: Arnot-Ogden Hospital has biomass system to provide heat and hot water, designed by Honeywell who guaranteed $500,000 in savings over the next year (they will eat the difference if they’re off)
- COWI is coming to Ithaca to help Bruce assess possibilities and create a plan
- CCE is soon expanding their building, will pilot district heating systems
- CCE: Annual Breakfast Nov. 18th – Biomass discussion (all are welcome, Ken will send details
- Overall goal: Boost Local Economy, Create Green Jobs, Enhance Energy Efficiency
- Manufacture and distribute district heating systems
- Create domestic capability to deliver this service
- Leverage what Danes have learned and perfected over the past thirty years and apply to Tompkins County
SEPTEMBER 2009
Sciencenter Presentation: Katie Levedahl and Laura Kimber
- Undertook research project to identify sustainability trends in society, focused on what could be done internally (museum) and externally (in the larger community); looked at the triple bottom line – people, economy, and environment and addressed each of these factors in both internal operations and larger presence in the community
- Subsequently, the SC has undergone many operations changes, from resource use (100% wind powered operations) to taking care of the people who work there, to ensuring long-term sustainability of finances through a formalized endowment process
- Charlie Trautmann’s visit to Europe to research climate change in the museum context – findings: most effective tactics were storytelling, many museums and centers didn’t walk their talk. This made it clear that the Sciencenter needed to practice what they preach as they undertook climate change education efforts, which they are currently doing
Update on energy efficiency legislation in NY State: Katie Borgella
- Most bills focused on residential and small business
- Katie shared that many towns are going after these bills because they have block grants/money to spend Tompkins County is pulling together a plan to present to Barbara Lifton
- Dan Roth asked about funds set aside for higher ed – first RGGI funds become available in 2010, with $550 million available in the 1st three years (some of that is for higher ed)
- The group asked whether TC might propose a county bill to help the overall process move forward
AUGUST 2009
Ithaca College Climate Action Plan: Marian Brown
- IC’s goal is to reduce ghg emissions by 100% by 2050 or 2.5% per year.
- Encouraging trends
- Reduction in CO2 emissions per square foot
- Reduction in CO2 emissions per student
- Reduction in kWh usage/year
Impacts of Energy Efficiency summer projects in Tompkins County: Ken Schlather
- Ken shared with the group the impacts of the energy efficiency work being done in the county, and presented the excel file that details the job years created, the number of jobs created, the annual $savings per household, and the pounds of CO2 eliminated per household annually
Governance Issues: Group
- The Steering Committee is comprised of:
- Katie Borgella – Local Government
- Tristram Coffin – Business/Industry/Finance
- Dominic Frongillo – Education
- Stacey Murphy – Non-profit
