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Ellicott Moving Forward With Clean Energy Program

ELLICOTT — Ellicott town officials greenlit two resolutions and a local law Monday aimed at reducing the town’s carbon footprint and energy costs.

According to Patrick McLaughlin, town supervisor, the resolutions and local law advance three so-called “high-impact actions,” as designated by the state’s Clean Energy Communities Program.

McLaughlin said the program, which aims to give grants to communities that demonstrate leadership in clean energy, is a win-win for the town, both in terms of cost-savings and the environment.

By completing just four of 10 high-impact actions, the town can earn a “Clean Energy Community” designation and be eligible for a $250,000 grant to support additional clean energy projects.

On Monday, the council approved three high-impact actions: Benchmarking, Unified Solar Permit and Community Choice Aggregation — the last one being a local law.

Benchmarking involves reporting the energy use of municipal  buildings  on  an annual  basis  and making that information  available  to  the public.

“We’re going to open our energy books to the public,” McLaughlin said.

Michael Erlandson, town clerk, said the town has collected this data for years, but only now will publicize it on the town’s website for transparency and oversight.

Information should be made public at www.townofellicott.com by the end of next month, he said.

Unified Solar Permit involves municipalities adopting the state Unified Solar Permit to reduce costs and delays for solar projects within the jurisdiction.

McLaughlin stated at an earlier council meeting that the Unified Solar Permit is a standardized permit application designed to streamline the approval process for installing solar in the community.

Erlandson said this process is already in effect.

According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which sponsors the Clean Energy Communities Program, the final local law — Community Choice Aggregation — puts control of choosing energy supply in local hands.

NYSERDA states that by pooling demand, communities build the clout necessary to negotiate lower rates with private suppliers, and are able to choose cleaner energy. A Community Choice Aggregation can allow whole communities to participate in the clean energy economy by ensuring that a greater percentage of electricity is coming from renewable sources.

Erlandson said this action still requires work and might take a number of months to come to fruition.

The fourth high-impact action that was already ongoing was Energy Code Enforcement Training. McLaughlin noted that the town’s code enforcement officer has already completed the training.

Three public hearings regarding the two resolutions and local law were held prior to Monday’s council meeting. No objections were raised.

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