Just confirmed from Assemblymember Kevin Cahill's office-- he'll definitely be holding a "Building a Greener New York" forum (I suggested this to him recently)-- at Rhinebeck Town Hall next Tues. (Oct. 26th) at 7 pm-- with special expert panel speakers Jeff Irish, Ron Kamen, and Joseph Malcarne!...
[Rhinebeck Town Hall is at 80 E. Market Street in town-- just about one block east of main light in town; see http://www.HVCE.com http://www.EarthKindSolar.com http://www.Malcarne.com for more on these]
Cahill's Green Jobs Green Homes bill info: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_1013091.html !
Don't miss this-- each one reach one-- please forward this along to all you know, folks...
[pass it on!]
Joel
444-0599/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
p.s. join 18 @ http://www.petitiononline.com/pacehere ; 37 @ http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SOLAR !...
p.p.s. Town of Clinton folks-- let us know if you want to help Gerda Cooke and Ed Tedeschi re: PACE here; thx tons to Gerda for her presentation to our Town Board here on this-- but we can't do it alone!...
p.p.p.s. Finally-- Vicky Perry's right on money here below in recent letter for Kevin: net-metering passed:
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/03/22/news/doc4ba6c693f1dc3605021784.txt ;
http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_02231001.html ;
http://assembly.state.ny.us/member_files/101/20100321/ ;
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Kevin-A-Cahill/story/29392/ !...
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http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/print/article/20101019/OPINION02/10190307/Letters-to-the-editor-for-10-19-10
October 19, 2010
Letters to the editor for 10/19/10
While others fume, Cahill gets results
It's just common sense to support Assemblyman Kevin Cahill this fall. Thanks to Cahill, New Yorkers finally have something that is crucial to success in getting green technology in wide use: Net-metering. Now, small businesses can sell their excess solar power back to the utilities - a real incentive to get more solar panels into use.
What is most impressive, Cahill got this bill passed while the rest of Albany was in a stalemate.
I wonder about those other candidates, who play their "angry-man" role for the cameras but won't show up to debate the issues. How can they serve us when they can't control their tempers?
Let's bring proven success back - support Kevin Cahill. He's rated 10 out of 10 in 2010.
Vicky Perry
Red Hook
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[recall below info sent out 10/10/10 in solidarity with 7000 events held all over; see http://www.350.org ]
You may be familiar with FHFA's drive to kill great PACE programs all over the U.S....
[sign http://www.petitiononline.com/pacehere -- Gillibrand, Hinchey, and Hall standing up for PACE!]
Well-- check out this good news from the Town of Bedford's NWEAC Retrofit Program Director, Tom Bregman!...(see http://www.NWEAC.org ):
From: Thomas Bregman
Date: Oct 9, 2010 4:15 PM
Our program (now that FHFA has killed a superior PACE offering for the time being) will launch using the new NYSERDA consumer credit product which allows for loans of up to $13k at 5.99%. They will be releasing the new offering in the next few weeks. We are still looking at alternatives to PACE and our finance committee (Town Boardmember David Gabrielson included) is working on what they might be. We will be going forward with a small test (5 homes) followed by a larger test (20) homes before the end of the year. Then we will launch the full Bedford Pilot in early 2011. Our goal is a total of 150 homes in year one after which we will start rolling the program out to the other NWEAC towns one-by-one.
Recall...
According to David Dell of Sustainable Hudson Valley, Dutchess County homeowners could save literally one billion dollars over the next decade on electric bills (while creating thousands of jobs) with a PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program that gets energy-efficiency and renewable energy into all the properties that need them (see http://www.PACEnow.org , http://www.LIGreenHomes.com , http://www.PetitionOnline.com.SOLAR , http://www.SustainHV.org ).
Thanks tons to all who came out Sept. 22nd to our Clinton Town Hall forum-- "Green Energy Solutions: A PACE Program for Clinton" forum-- with Norene Coller (former long-time county EMC/town CAC chair), Jo Renbeck, Doug Smyth, Scott Brewster, Larry Freedman, Ricky and Robin Venters, Stanley and Gerda Cooke, Bernie and Donald Seifert, Judy Malstrom there (many others from all over).
[see http://www.PACEnow.org -- a local PACE program could turn around our county's economy, folks]
Thx to the following presenters as well who shared with us tons of info on all this (videotaped 'em!):
-- Clinton resident Stuart Findlay (long-time scientist with Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies)
-- Clinton resident Ron Kamen (EarthKindSolar founder, Pres. NY Solar Energy Industries Association)
-- Clinton resident Joseph Malcarne (green builder extraordinaire)
-- David Gabrielson (Bedford Town Boardmember and well-respected expert re: PACE across NYS)
-- David Dell (Sustainable Hudson Valley Chair and Independent Dutchess Energy Alliance cofounder)
-- David Byrne, Project Manager for Hudson Valley Clean Energy
Note-- brand-new online effort-- http://www.petitiononline.com/pacehere -- for folks who agree with Kirsten Gillibrand, Maurice Hinchey, John Hall, and our county's Dem Co. Leg. caucus that the Federal Home Finance Agency should once again allow PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs (like Babylon's-- see http://www.LIGreenHomes.com )-- to survive here in NY, across U.S.
[Doug Smyth, Scott Brewster, Johanne Renbeck, Stanley/Gerda Cooke, L. Freedman signed hard copy]
[...and I personally gave this petition to Scott Murphy when he saw him Sat. in LaGrange; call his offices (and Schumer's too): (866) 338-1015 to get them both on board H.R.5766/S.3642...]
Don't forget these important reasons why we here in Clinton (and Dutchess) can't wait for PACE here!...
Fact: PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs for our communities here-- as in Babylon, Boulder, Berkeley, Binghamton, et. al. ( http://www.PACEnow.org ).
Fact: Bedford and thirteen other towns in Westchester have formed a PACE Northern Westchester Energy Action Coalition ( http://www.NWEAC.org ).
Fact: Even Wall Street will help fund communities like Bedford and others working together to start PACE programs; NYSERDA and federal monies available as well ( http://www.LIGreenHomes.com ).
[Bedford Town Boardmember David Gabrielson and Clinton's own Ron Kamen are experts on this!]
Fact: "Sonoma County has loaned out $30 million for energy improvements to more than 1,000 homes and businesses since the program began a year and a half ago"-- creating 347 jobs so far(!).
[July 28th NPR piece-- "Outlook Dims for Popular Energy-Efficiency Loans" by John McChesney
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128700648 Sonoma Co.-- population 472,000]
Fact: The Town of Babylon's Long Island Green Homes program by the end of August will have completed energy-efficiency retrofits in 120 homes (with 96 more waiting in queue); also solar lending.
According to the Town of Babylon's Sustainability Officer and Energy Program Director Dorian Dale,
"participating contractors have increased their employee rolls by 26% since the program began"-- and the Long Island Green Homes program is projected to create literally 6600 new green-collar jobs for the Town of Babylon-- with the average homeowner reducing their energy costs by $1160 a year(!).
[ http://www.townofbabylon.com/whatsnew.cfm?id=252 http://www.LIGreenHomes.com ; pop. 211,000]
Fact: Overwhelming majorities in our own County Legislature over the past few years (with strong GOP support no less) passed two resolutions from yours truly for an Independent Dutchess Energy Alliance.
[based on http://www.CambridgeEnergyAlliance.org -- very similar to PACE program]
Two more facts that prove exactly how effective PACE programs can be creating green jobs locally:
[PACE = Property Assessed Clean Energy = Sustainable Energy Loan fund proposal]
Fact: According to Town Boardmember David Gabrielson, the Town of Bedford is planning to make available $50 million over the next five years to loan 5000 homeowners enough funding for energy-efficiency and solar retrofits. [Bedford: population 18,000]
[see http://www.NWEAC.org ; Gabrielson made this statement on my WVKR 91.3 FM show recently]
Fact: "The Berkeley FIRST program has enabled 13 homeowners to install solar power systems, using money from bonds issued by the City." [Berkeley-- population 100,000]
[from "Solar Financing Program Invented in Berkeley, Now National, Is in Trouble" (July 19, 2010)
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-07-13/article/35831?headline=Solar-Financing-Program-Invented-in-Berkeley-Now-National-is-In-Trouble
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Again-- if you live in NYS-- join these 18 folks signed on to http://www.petitiononline.com/pacehere !...
18.Sandra Kurtz PACE makes sense po box 385 10990
17.Mark Kurtz this must be fixed po box 385
16. Pam Krimsky A necessary bill 12528
15. Stewart Verrilli This is a "no brainer" 387 Hollow Rd. 12580
14. BarbaraThis idea makes sense. Guilford R. New Paltz, NY 12561
13. Steven Siegel Let's get this done. 25 Willow Glen Road, Red Hook, NY 12571
12. Jill Lunquist Barrytown, NY 12507
11. Jan Harrison It is important to be responsible for the health of the planet.34 Hunter St., Kingston, NY 12401
10. George Quasha green business is good business ,124 Station Hill, Barrytown, NY 12507
9. Janice Viola Super! Great Green initiatve!19 Monell Avenue, poughkeepsie, NY 12603
8. Kate and Joel Kopp we urge you to support the Sustainable Energy Financing Programs 12572
7. Duncan Christy Let's keep up the PACE! 10 Carolina Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
6. Karl F. Sipperley It's a shame that this is even debated. Wake up and GET GREEN NOW! Rhinebeck, NY 12572
5. Carole Tang win, win, win PO Box 267, Poughquag, NY 12570-0267
4. Cary Kittner what's not to like about this, local green jobs. 12507
3. Barbara Upton Sounds good! 12446
2. Sylvia Bullett green P.O. Box 9/Garrison,NY 10524
1. Nora Edwards Green energy is something we really need. Wingdale, NY,, 12594
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Thanks to the thirty-seven Dutchess County residents below who have already signed on to our http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SOLAR effort too-- for Dutchess to follow the innovative PACE example of the City of Berkeley and allow homeowners here in our area the opportunity to be part of a voluntary sustainable energy financing district to install solar panels on their roofs-- the cost to be repaid over twenty years through an annual special tax on county property tax bills:
37. William Griffith every good idea helps 12583
36. Nora Edwards We need to start now to move to renewable energy. 12594
35. linda Puiatti solar: clean, cheap and available. 12531
34. Raymond Savoie very interested;home energy auditor 127 Noxon Rd Poughkeepsie,NY 12603
33. Dan Maciejak We also need the utility to buy back excess energy generated via solar / wind, the utility to be subsidized by the Federal Government. The next step! 12572
32. Nicholas O'Connor This is a necessary step in a necessary direction, and each step we take, as individual households, will add up to great progress. 1 Knights Way, Rhinebeck NY, 12572
31. Maria Katzenbach Making progress viable and affordable for all. 37 Williams Road, Red Hook, NY 12571
30. Zachary Frenzel 81 Bowman Rd, 12567
29. Emily Landri It's about time! 12540
28. Thomas Baldino I think this is a great way to cut costs, and help the environment. It is a win win situation all around. 19 North St., Beacon NY 12508
27. Chris 'Creek' Iersen What a great leap in the right direction of getting our energy sustainably. I volunteer my house to be the 'guinea pig'! 221 stonykill rd; wappingers falls, NY 12590
26. Sheryl Griffith And also NY needs to liberalize its eligibility requirements for state incentives and grid connectivity. In some state, for example, if your configuration is 70\% efficient, you get 70\% of the offered state reimbursement. But in NY if your system (due to shading or house orientation) is not at least 85\% efficient, you get nothing. 227 Linden Ave, Red Hook, NY 12571
25. Rob This is obvious 22 IBM Road, 12603
24. Christian W. Meyer Provide a stimulus and smart people will use it. We need to promote alternative energy sources. 35 Oak Grove Road Salt Point, N.Y. 12578
23. Leonard Marcus I am VERY interested in going solar 10 Lorene Dr., LaGrangeville, NY 12540
22. Dana J. Tompkins The more this is done throughout the Country, the lower the cost would become, the more people could afford it, and the snowball will start to grow. Also solar panels can be put on the ground, so you don't have to have a south facing roof. 73 College Lane Millbrook, NY 12545
21. Laura H. Liebeck-Smith Please do this 23 Heather Dr Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
20. Cynthia Cowden let's go solar now 178 Main St #1, Beacon, NY 12508
19. Matthew Verrilli I support the proposal. 12572
18. Richard R Carlson What a great idea 3 Bowdoin Lane,Wappingers Falls NY 12590
17. Eliot Goodwin Please make solar a realiy in Dutchess County 12 Petra Lane, Albany, NY 12205
16. Annie Scibienski Yes to SOLAR 12572
15. Babette Brown Please make solar panels more afforable to Dutchess County residents 12508
14. Buffy L Herman we must do this to ensure a tomorrow for everyone! 12508
13. William W. Irwin Thank You 494 South Ave, Beacon, NY 12508
12. Colleen Hardiman Please enact this solar policy 35 Larch Court, Fishkill, NY 12524
11. Mark Neustadt I agree! 8 South Hinterlands Dr., Rhinebeck 12572
10. Douglas C. Smyth Any means to promote solar power is good for people and good for the earth. 12580
9. Patricia G. Lamanna If my home is eligible (it may not have enough south-facing rooftop space) I would participate. 27 Meyer Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
8. Nicholas Sialmas Let's Make It Happen 12508
7. Jim Schumm More solar incentives would be good for Dutchess 12508
6. Cecilia Stancell Good idea 426 Bog Hollow Rd, Wassaic, NY; 12592
5. Randi Sackheim going in the right direction 12572
4. Angela Valles Good for Dutchess County! 404 Vassar Place, Fishkill, NY 12524
3. Connie Hogarth This is an extraordiinary positive direction to make a significant leap in our role to affect both the economy and global warming. 20 Hartsook Lane, Beacon NY 12508
2. Melanie Whaley good work 12545
1. Alicia Lenhart This is a great idea and I fully support it. 12572
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[Cahill's Green Jobs Green Homes bill info: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_1013091.html ]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 13, 2009
GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS THE GREEN JOBS/GREEN NEW YORK BILL
Program Will Assist Low-Income and Unemployed New Yorkers Train for Green Collar Jobs
Governor Paterson Launches New Website - GreenCareersNY.com - to Match Job Seekers with Green Training Opportunities
Governor David A. Paterson today signed the Green Jobs/Green New York Act, establishing a program that will create green jobs and stimulate investment in weatherization and energy efficiency improvements for residential and commercial buildings. Governor Paterson held the signing ceremony at the New York State Weatherization Directors Association training center in North Syracuse, where New Yorkers are being trained to weatherize and retrofit homes.
Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee, said: "The goal of the Green Jobs/Green New York Program is three fold. It is designed to create jobs, lower energy costs for households, not-for-profits and small businesses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is exactly the type of innovative initiative President Obama envisions when he talks about creating green jobs and the new clean energy economy. A successful program here in New York will establish us as a national leader in tackling the tough challenges of climate change and employment opportunities in the 21st Century. I am proud to have worked with Speaker Silver and Assemblyman Sweeney to sponsor this important legislation. I thank Governor Paterson and Senator Aubertine for their leadership in guiding this package through the Senate and into law."
"The workforce training that this bill supports will prepare New Yorkers to find jobs in the 21st century clean energy economy that we are building here in New York. I am proud to sign into law the Green Jobs/Green New York Act, so we can help New Yorkers secure jobs that help working families and businesses cut their energy bills while reducing greenhouse gas pollution," said Governor Paterson. "I have laid out a New Economy jobs plan that will help to put New Yorkers back to work through innovation and technology, and have set a goal to meet 45 percent of our electricity needs through energy efficiency and renewables by 2015. The Green Jobs/Green New York Act is an important tool in achieving these energy and economic goals."
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said: "Thanks to the Green Jobs/Green New York legislation, homeowners, small business owners, and not-for-profit agencies are encouraged to undertake the energy efficiency projects that will reduce utility bills as well as greenhouse gas emissions. As homes and facilities are retrofitted, and green jobs are created, this program will become a much-need boost for struggling local economies throughout New York State."
Senator Darrel J. Aubertine, Chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, said: "I want to thank the Governor for signing this important legislation here today. This truly is a win-win for New York State which will enable homeowners and small businesses to save money on their energy bills all while creating jobs and putting thousands of New Yorkers back to work. This legislation directs these loans to be spread across the state based on need and here in Upstate New York, where keeping the heat in is a top priority each winter, this program will create jobs and save consumers on their monthly energy bills."
Governor Paterson also announced that $7 million from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has been awarded to 11 counties and New York City to launch the new Green Jobs Corps programs. This funding will allow local departments of social services to provide job skills training and subsidized employment opportunities in "green industries" for public assistance recipients and low-income individuals. Participants in the Green Jobs Corps program will develop occupational skills that will enable them to get jobs in addition to supporting their ability to remain employed and advance in their careers.
To help connect job seekers with the opportunities being announced today, Governor Paterson also announced the launch of a new web site to assist those seeking to enter the new green job sector. The site - www.greencareersny.com - is designed to make it easy for individuals, businesses and workforce professionals to find the State's local training programs and green job opportunities.
The Green Jobs/Green New York Act (A.8901/S.5888 and chapter amendment A.9031/S.6032) directs the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to establish revolving loan and green jobs training programs to retrofit homes to conserve energy. Loans will be capped at $13,000 for residential and $26,000 for commercial properties. The program will target middleclass homeowners and small businesses that will pay back the loan out of what they save on their energy bills. The job training component will focus on new entrants to the workforce and displaced workers. The training programs and any education and enrollment efforts will be subjected to a competitive procurement process available to community based-organizations.
To fund the weatherization loan program and establish the statewide green jobs training program, NYSERDA will use a portion of $112 million from the auction of carbon emission credits through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The seed money from the RGGI fund will be used to leverage private investment, which will move us toward a goal of retrofitting one million homes over the next five years.
The Green Jobs bill will allow the State to increase its existing and successful weatherization efforts that are already underway. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) will eventually administer $394 million in funds under American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). By the end of this month, $190 million in 64 contracts, representing every county in New York, will be executed as part of the WAP program. Under WAP, a minimum of 45,000 residential units will be weatherized in New York State.
Senator David Valesky said: "The Green Jobs/Green NY program will help Upstate tremendously by reducing energy costs for homeowners and creating thousands of permanent, well-paying jobs. This is the kind of creative thinking we need - combining job creation with environmentally friendly initiatives - that will help jump start the Upstate New York economy. I am pleased the Governor recognized the importance of this program by signing it into law."
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[see http://www.CambridgeEnergyAlliance.org for great example for Dutchess County from Cambridge, MA; two resolutions from yours truly passed with wide bipartisan margins in our County Legislature in 2008 and 2009 to create the Independent Dutchess Energy Alliance]
It's more timely than ever for us to push for PACE-like program locally-- Wall Street bond types are much more interested in helping towns start PACE-like programs like http://www.LIGreenHomes.com (Babylon) if towns like Clinton and Rhinebeck first get motivated, then band together in aggregation with other small towns-- as 13 towns have banded together in Westchester w/Town of Bedford (foundation money could become more available too as elsewhere in the country-- along with $44 million already earmarked for NYS from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative).
Recall this, too, from National Association of Counties News (each Co. Leg. receives in our mailbox):
"Energy-Efficiency Loan Program Set 'PACE' for Counties" by Charles Taylor [June 21, 2010]
[http://lists.naco.org/CountyNewsTemplate.cfm?template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=33973]
[this article from NACO News points out that there are many different ways to fund PACE projects!...see: http://www.SonomaCountyEnergy.org ; http://www.RenewSantaFe.org ; http://www.BeClimateSmart.com ]
Recall, too-- it's not just towns, cities, and villages here in NYS and across the country that are getting off the dime to kick off their own PACE programs-- but counties too.
Don't forget-- the Albany County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution this February to start a PACE-like program there (a Sustainable Energy Loan Fund, the Tompkins County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution this April to start a PACE-like program there (a Sustainable Energy Loan Fund), the GOP-led Nassau County Legislature passed a resolution this March to start a PACE-like Green Energy Loan Fund there, and most of the Sullivan County Legislature is also committed to helping Dick Riseling start a PACE-like SWEEP program there as well.
[note, too-- Elizabeth Staubach in the Albany County Executive's office has confirmed with me that Albany County is indeed working towards direction of starting to implement county-wide PACE program as in Babylon]
[see: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/legis/LD/12/03-23-10PJS01.html ;
http://www.albanycounty.com/legislature/resolutions/2010/20100208/10-046.pdf ;
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=899947&category=region ;
http://www.sc-democrat.com/news/0006June/18/news.htm ;
http://www.tompco.net/legislature/highlights/20100420.pdf ;
http://www.tompkins-co.org/legislature/TCCOG/Resolutions/PACE.pdf ;
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/what-are-mangano-s-plans-for-nassau-1.1631313 ;
http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/03/albany-co-leg-unanimous-for-green-loan.html ;
http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/03/join-lucy-johnson-of-independent.html ]
And here in Dutchess, Co. Leg.'s Dan Kuffner, Barbara Jeter-Jackson, Alison MacAvery, and Jim Doxsey have all agreed to co-sponsor the resolution below (scroll down) drafted by yours truly for our County Legislature to do the same here...(and have for months).
But not ONE GOP member of our County Legislature has made commitment to co-sponsor this with us.
So-- send a letter today to all 25 of us on this-- at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!
Also true-- at the August full board meeting of the Dutchess County Legislature, I got the entire Co. Leg. Dem caucus (Goldberg, Kuffner, Jeter-Jackson, MacAvery, White-- plus Cons. Jim Doxsey) to agree to sign on unanimously to letter from yours truly urging Congress (especially Sen. Schumer and Rep. Scott Murphy) to join Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Barbara Boxer, along with Representatives John Hall, Maurice Hinchey, and over forty other members of Congress, to co-sponsor legislation to protect PACE programs from the July 2010 statement from the Federal Housing Finance Agency-- "The PACE Assessment Protection Act of 2010" (H.R. 5766/S. 3642)...
Thanks again to Hank Gross of MidHudsonNews.com for again for covering this:
"Dutchess Legislature Dems Ask President to Retain PACE Program"
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2010/August/12/PACE_DC_Dems-12Aug10.html
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From National Association of Counties News (which each Co. Leg. receives in our mailbox).
"Energy-Efficiency Loan Program Set 'PACE' for Counties" by Charles Taylor [June 21, 2010]
http://lists.naco.org/CountyNewsTemplate.cfm?template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=33973
Santa Fe County's program, Renew Santa Fe, has raised $10 million in private funding to begin as a pilot, according to Duncan Sill, the county's economic development director, who is in charge of the effort. That should be enough to fund 40-50 projects when the program ramps up later this year, he said.
Residential and commercial properties will be eligible for the loans. The county also intends to eventually sell "micro-bonds" in the $20,000 to $30,000 range, the proceeds from which will be used to make loans. Under most programs of this type, loans are capped at those amounts, or 10 percent of the home's value, whichever is lower.
St. Lucie County, Fla.'s nascent Solar Energy and Loan Fund (SELF) program takes a slightly different approach than Santa Fe's. Rather than selling bonds, it is creating a nonprofit "green" Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). The county has $20 million in commitments from the banking community.
"We're able to avoid the bonding process by partnering with the financial institutions, and then they put the financial capital in for the loan funds," said Doug Coward, vice chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. The St. Lucie program will focus in three areas: energy conservation, energy efficiency upgrades and rooftop solar. The first two are a no-brainer, according to Coward: "It doesn't make a lot of sense to put solar photovoltaic on the roof if that new electricity is going out the window."
Programs like these put energy efficiency improvements within reach for lower income residents and the working poor, he added. A CDFI requires that 60 percent of the program's energy improvements be in low- and middle-income communities.
In addition, the SELF program will be able to offer lower interest rates than traditional PACE programs, whose interest payments can range from 8 percent to 10 percent, Coward said. Using the CDFI approach, the county's program will be able to offer interest rates of 4 percent to 5 percent.
St. Lucie County and the Santa Fe County are also using monies provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which encourages such programs. Earlier this month, St. Lucie County was one of 20 jurisdictions nationwide awarded competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program (EECBG), receiving $2.9 million for its SELF program. Santa Fe County is using state energy program funds that were distributed by formula.
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Here is actual letter I got Goldberg, Kuffner, Jeter-Jackson, MacAvery, White, and Doxsey to sign in August, directed to Congress:
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and forty-nine members of the House of Representatives wrote a letter to President Obama July 19th stating the following-- 'We are writing to express our strong support for the continuation of the innovative financing mechanism known as Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program; this innovative program will create jobs and make thousands of homes more energy-efficient.
The PACE program allows residential property owners, who may not have large amounts of capital on hand, to afford the up-front costs of a number of cost-effective improvements to their home. We request that the Federal Housing Finance Agency immediately publish revised guidelines that would allow PACE financing programs to continue while ensuring that both taxpayer and private mortgage investments are protected. Many Americans, states, and municipalities are counting on this program to be restored.'
Poughkeepsie's David Dell, Chair of Sustainable Hudson Valley, has determined that literally one billion dollars in savings on electric bills is possible over the next decade for Dutchess County homeowners and businesses if we succeeded in getting energy-efficiency retrofits into the hands of all who need them.
The towns of Babylon and Bedford, and the counties of Albany, Nassau, and Tompkins have taken meaningful steps towards setting up PACE programs. National Public Radio also recently reported that 'Sonoma County in California has loaned out $30 million for energy improvements to more than 1,000 homes and businesses since the program began a year and a half ago'-- creating jobs so far in just eighteen months.
Additionally, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Barbara Boxer, along with Representatives John Hall, Maurice Hinchey, and over forty other members of Congress are co-sponsoring actual legislation to protect PACE programs from the July 2010 statement from the Federal Housing Finance Agency-- 'The PACE Assessment Protection Act of 2010' (H.R. 5766/S. 3642).
We, the undersigned seven members of the Dutchess County Legislature, strongly urge Congress to pass H.R. 5766/S. 3642 without further delay-- and for President Obama to sign it into law."
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From http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2010/August/12/PACE_DC_Dems-12Aug10.html ...
Dutchess Legislature Dems ask President to retain PACE program
POUGHKEEPSIE - The six Democrats and one Conservative on the Dutchess County Legislature have signed a letter to President Obama, Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Scott Murphy asking them to support retention of the Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.
The program allows residential property owners who cannot afford upfront costs of making energy efficient improvements to their homes to perform them.
Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner is the impetus behind the local push to keep the legislation intact.
"Unfortunately the what happened on roughly July 7, the Federal Housing Finance Agency decided they wanted to kill PACE programs and this is really not a tolerable situation," he said.
So, Tyner and fellow Democrats Sandra Goldberg, Daniel Kuffner, Barbara Jeter-Jackson, Alison MacAvery and Steve White, along with Conservative James Doxsey, signed the letter.
They asked for Schumer and Murphy to co-sponsor the resolution to protect PACE programs along with Congressman John Hall and Maurice Hinchey and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, all of whom have already supported the effort.
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From http://www.tompco.net/legislature/highlights/20100420.pdf ...
Highlights of the April 20, 2010 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature
Sustainable Energy Financing Programs:
The Legislature by unanimous vote, asked the State to adopt pending legislation to "amend, strengthen, and correct technical deficiencies" within enabling legislation authorizing Sustainable Energy Financing Programs, which would allow the use of bonds and other sources of public and private financing to establish and implement such programs. The Tompkins County legislature last year supported the enabling legislation to establish such "green loan" programs for property owners for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements, but indicates that broader sources of funding are needed than are permitted in the current legislation.
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[text here below of resolution #2010228 from me, Kuffner, Jeter-Jackson, MacAvery, and Doxsey-- that I was forced to pull from the agenda this summer when it was clear GOP still going to kill it; text here below is modeled word for word after resolution that passed Albany County Legislature unanimously in February(; again-- email all 25 of us at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us to get GOP off dime on this]
WHEREAS, by Chapter 497 of the laws of 2009, the State of New York authorized an amendment of the General Municipal Law by creating Article 5-L to allow municipalities to create Sustainable Energy Loan Programs to promote the deployment of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement measures at residential and commercial properties, and
WHEREAS, the establishment of a Sustainable Energy Loan Program in Dutchess County would serve to assist in achieving statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy goals, reducing greenhouse emissions and mitigating the effect of global climate change and advance a clean energy economy, and
WHEREAS, a Sustainable Energy Loan Program would also bolster the economy of Dutchess County by saving county residents monies which they would otherwise spend on energy costs and by creating jobs for Dutchess County residents, and
WHEREAS, a Dutchess County Sustainable Energy Loan Program may create an opportunity for the County and State to obtain American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") and/or other funding to support the program, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature hereby authorizes the Dutchess County Sustainable Energy Loan Program and requests that the Dutchess County Executive undertake all necessary steps to implement the Dutchess County Sustainable Energy Loan Program as authorized by Article 5-L of the General Municipal Law, and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Dutchess County Legislature is directed to forward certified copies of this resolution to the appropriate County Officials.
