Ecogy Energy, a developer, financier and owner-operator, was selected through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) in 2021 by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), in partnership with Sustainable Westchester and Westchester County, to develop the solar energy projects under the Westchester Community Solar Partnership (WCSP), along with two other developers. WCSP is broadly aimed at boosting economic development in New York State by providing Westchester County residents and municipalities with locally based, efficient land use, and discounted electricity costs through projects of community solar.
Ecogy secured preliminary agreements with the first municipality on a series of future projects and obtained approvals for a Con Edison interconnection and incentives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) .
Sustainable Westchester, a nonprofit consortium of local governments in Westchester County, is the designated community solar acquisition provider for the WCSP and will partner with Ecogy to enroll local residents, with a focus on communities of affordable housing and low-to-moderate income (LMI) individuals. . By prioritizing these groups in development plans, NYPA, Westchester County, Ecogy and Sustainable Westchester are making great strides toward supporting environmental justice and directing benefits to underserved communities. in history and overlooked.
“Many homeowners are not eligible to install solar on their homes for a number of reasons, including that they may be renting a property, have too much shade, poor weather conditions roof or due to financial restrictions,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “However, Community Solar is designed to be accessible to all communities and residents, bringing them financial rewards and environmental improvements. We are proud and excited to partner with Ecogy based in NY and once again with Sustainable Westchester in a new cost and energy saving initiative.
Community Distributed Generation (CDG) projects help governments and schools to support renewable energy developments that benefit their communities and to break the inequitable distribution of renewable energy that may occur, redirecting benefits to those without space, time, financial resources, or development. experience in logistically supporting their own solar PV system. WCSP enables surrounding communities to access clean energy with a simple subscription process, no sign-up costs, no cancellation fees, and a guaranteed discount for subscribers who up to 10% of earned solar credits while offering site rental payments to host municipalities. the solar arrays.
The big transition to clean energy for New York requires exactly the kind of public-private-nonprofit partnership that this project represents. Such collaborations help educate residents about the benefits of community solar, subscribe to community solar projects, and earn long-term savings from renewable energy.
“NYPA and Westchester County are actively seeking innovative and inclusive renewable energy solutions for municipalities and communities that want to provide energy savings to their constituents,” said Justin E. Driscoll, interim president and CEO. in NYPA. “Prioritizing the underserved is a key element of the project we are focusing on as part of our role in helping to accomplish the state’s bold clean energy transition. Community partnerships will serve as a blueprint for renewable energy development for years to come and we hope that our best-in-class examples here in New York State will serve as inspiration across the country.
“We are proud to partner with Westchester County and the New York Power Authority to bring the benefits of solar hosting to Sustainable Westchester’s member municipalities and County school districts,” said Nina Orville, executive director of Sustainable Westchester. “Sustainable Westchester is committed to helping Westchester County meet New York State’s nation-leading climate and equity targets. This partnership will accelerate our achievement of those goals, while building on our other successes solar initiatives.”
To finance the project, Ecogy intends to use the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) of the NYSERDA NY-Sun Incentive Program, a state initiative that offers cash incentives and/or financing for the deployment of qualified solar project to encourage solar growth. industry. The program helps New York State advance its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) implementation targets of 10,000 MW of distributed solar PV and 70% renewable energy by 2030.
Ecogy builds on its history of leadership in Westchester County, which includes the first community solar projects in Yorktown, Croton-on-Hudson and Ossining, and the largest solar canopy system in Westchester County with the Maryknoll Society. Sustainable Westchester is working with Ecogy to enroll community members on the Maryknoll Community Solar farm.
“Ecogy is proud to build community rooftop solar solutions for our fellow New Yorkers and continues to open doors for traditionally underserved communities where Ecogy has focused on in the past 12 years,” said Jack Bertuzzi, Ecogy’s principal. “None of this would be possible without the leadership of the New York Power Authority and Sustainable Westchester, who are constantly innovating, continuously supporting initiatives that promote renewable energy, and prioritizing fair and clean energy development.”
In coordination with the portfolio of projects, Ecogy plans to install their energy monitoring device, Econode, which will allow each site to benchmark consumption to increase driving efficiency through results that data driven and secondary analysis. All projects will have their data accessible, not only to municipalities and subscribers, but also to NYPA’s energy management platform, New York Energy Manager (NYEM), which helps grow the data pool used by improve energy efficiency throughout the state.
