PSEG Long Island, LIPA Rebates Assist County in Reducing Annual Energy Costs by more than $3 Million
(Long Island, NY) Today, County Executive Bellone, PSEG Long Island and LIPA, highlighted a series of municipal energy-efficiency projects that advance Suffolk County and New York State’s energy goals and provide more than $3,000,000 in annual energy cost savings for the county. By participating in PSEG Long Island’s Commercial Efficiency Program, as well taking advantage of several State and LIPA rebates, Suffolk County has reached an energy saving milestone of 12,700,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), in accumulated annual savings.
“We are always looking for opportunities which will allow Suffolk County to reduce its carbon footprint,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “Working with PSEG Long Island, LIPA and NYSERDA, Suffolk County has been able to take advantage of the many energy efficiency and solar rebates offered by these agencies. Securing a prosperous future for Suffolk County is of paramount importance as we use every tool in the toolbox to achieve these real, long term savings.”
Gil Anderson, Commissioner Suffolk County DPW, Michael Deering- LIPA Director of Customer Service & Program Oversight, Tom Falcone, LIPA CEO, Neal Lewis, Executive Director-Sustainability Institute of Molloy College, County Executive Steve Bellone, Lisa Broughton, Suffolk County Energy Director and Bio/High Tech Development Specialist, Mike Voltz, PSEG Long Island Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables, Dave Daly, PSEG Long Island President and COO, Gordian Raacke, Executive Director-Renewable Energy Long Island. Photo Credit: Suffolk County.
“PSEG Long Island commends Suffolk County for its dedication to and investment in creating a cleaner and greener place to live and work on Long Island,” said David Daly, PSEG Long Island president and COO. “Through participation in PSEG Long Island’s energy efficiency and renewables programs, Suffolk County is reducing its operating costs as well as saving energy, the environment and money for Suffolk County residents.”
LIPA CEO Tom Falcone said, “Suffolk County’s commitment to clean and efficient energy is advancing Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) to build a clean, resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. We applaud their efforts and look forward to continuing to work with Suffolk County to find ways to reduce demand and lower costs for its residents.”
Working closely with PSEG Long Island and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Suffolk County has instituted many projects to reduce energy use and energy costs at county facilities. According to an independent evaluation, every dollar invested through PSEG Long Island’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs generates $3.20 in benefits to PSEG and its customers.
Suffolk’s efforts are estimated to have reduced peak electric demand during the critical summer months by more than 2,600 kilowatts (kW). The energy efficient measures installed have earned the County $3.5 million in rebates, including $211,075 from PSEG Long Island in 2015 alone.
Suffolk County has undertaken a multitude of projects which include: energy-efficient lighting retrofits; replacement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, with equipment that is more energy-efficient; improved energy management systems; and variable speed drives on pumps and motors, which can better manage motor speeds to save energy.
The annual energy savings from these projects is more than 12.7 million (kWh), equivalent to more than 1,750 average-sized homes, and more than 914,000 therms of gas and oil, enough to heat about 1,300 average-sized homes for a year. These upgrades have reduced the county’s annual maintenance costs by nearly $550,000.
The County is committed to building on its energy-efficiency efforts, which included nine major projects completed from 2009-2015 representing a current annual savings of approximately $3,000,000.
Energy efficiency projects completed include: the Riverhead County Center, Riverhead Criminal Courts Buildings, Board of Elections, H. Lee Dennison Building, Cohalan Courts and the Medical Examiners Buildings to reduce energy use and costs. They included new high efficiency lighting, heating and cooling systems, energy efficient windows and energy management systems.
In addition, the Board of Elections has a 100 KW photovoltaic installation providing clean, renewable energy, and the H. Lee Dennison Building and Cohalan Courts have installed combined heat and power (CHP) systems that recapture the heat created when generating electricity and use it to provide heat or hot water to the buildings.
“Suffolk County is a shining example of taking action on climate change by eliminating wasteful energy use with energy efficiency upgrades and aggressively pursuing opportunities to installing solar arrays on county facilities,” said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island, a not-for-profit organization. “This is the kind of local leadership we need everywhere in order to transition to a clean energy economy powered by our abundant and local renewable energy sources.”
“Under County Executive Steve Bellone’s leadership, Suffolk County is demonstrating that government can lead by example in reducing our carbon footprint while saving money for years to come with an aggressive strategy to retrofit old inefficient heating, cooling, and lighting systems and installing clean renewable solar energy,” stated Neal Lewis Executive Director of the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College. “Suffolk County is a model Climate Smart Community that other municipalities should emulate; by taking advantage of incentives from LIPA, NYSERDA and PSEG Long Island, the upfront costs of clean energy retrofits are greatly reduced and the taxpayer savings from reduced energy bills and maintenance expenses, are enhanced and more quickly realized.”
