Inviting Lawmakers to Tompkins County, where Hundreds of Buildings are Already All-Electric!5/25/2022  By Martha Robertson
former Tompkins County Legislature Chairperson (six years) and Legislator (20 years) 1655 Ellis Hollow Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850; mrobertsonnext@gmail.com; 607-592-3119 As New York State debates how to reach our CLCPA goals, I write to urge – in the strongest possible terms – passage of three bills that are essential in our battle against the worse effects of climate change:
On May 12, I watched most of the Assembly’s public hearing on the All-Electric Building Act. It was beyond frustrating to hear so many speakers say “we need more time” before we can build all-electric buildings. I invite those folks to come to Tompkins County, where it is now NORMAL for new buildings – even the biggest ones – to be all-electric. One such example is Breckenridge Place, built back in 2014. That was eight WINTERS ago. The building is six stories tall, with 50 units of affordable housing, built by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, completely on an air source heat pump system. This is normal construction. About five years ago, Tompkins County created a Business Energy Advisors Program. It offers individualized engineering consulting for commercial developers, for new construction, expansions, and significant renovations. The program has helped 60 participants so far, including municipal governments (e.g., the Village of Dryden and Town of Ithaca), multi-family housing developers, non-profits, and private businesses. Many of these projects include electrified heating - air source, ground source, and hot water heat pumps. More often, now, county staff is helping developers decide which heat pump option to use for their project. It’s no longer “what’s a heat pump?” It’s “which one do I use?” Six years ago the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) created an Enhanced Energy Incentive. We front-loaded the tax abatements we offered, challenging developers to create projects that were 40% more efficient than code at the time. IDA developers are now creating buildings that are 80% more efficient than code. In just the last five years, the IDA has incentivized 13 projects that use heat pumps instead of gas. Some have been open for several years now – including winters – while some are under construction. Among these 13 all-electric projects, there are:
We in Tompkins County are confident that these 13 developers would never gamble $615 million if electrification didn’t work. All-electric buildings are normal. We’ve been enjoying their efficiency and their health benefits, as well as cooling and dehumidification, for years. And they can be built, now, everywhere across NYS. We need the All-Electric Building Act passed, along with the Building Standards Act and the Gas Transition Act, before the State Legislature leaves for the summer. There is absolutely no time to waste. Thank you for your time.
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 Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Is your electricity price per kilowatt-hour high right now? Look on the bottom of the last page of your electric bill to see your kWh rate. If you live in one of the following municipalities and a fixed rate of 5.71 cents per kWh through June 2023 sounds good to you, call Constellation at 833-866-9637 (24/7/365) and request their 100% renewable (hydroelectric) plan.
If you’re not fortunate to be a resident or small business in one of these municipalities, what can you do about high electricity rates that hover around 9 cents/kWh right now just for the supply, not delivery portion? First and always – Seek ways to reduce your energy load, such as turning off whatever isn’t being used.
Please don’t be wooed by an ESCO with low variable rates. A common practice is to hold the low price one to three months, then sharply increase it. The only ESCO offering a 100% renewable (wind/hydro) that does not engage in this unethical practice is Energy Coop of America. Yes, the price is more than you’d like to pay but it remains no more than 1.5 cents per kWh higher than the utility’s fossil-nuclear plan. View this month’s ESCO chart. You can also view this month’s Subscription Solar chart. If you haven’t purchased solar panels, you can choose one of these companies and sign up to be on the waiting list. Beyond ESCOs and Subscription Solar: A renewable electricity ESCO and/or subscription solar are 'market nudges', but frankly the market doesn’t need our nudges right now because demand exceeds supply. So the real need is decarbonizing our homes in order to accelerate our climate impact, reduce both indoor and outdoor pollution, and save money in the long-run. To maximize our impact, the order of these four steps is important:
So again, the steps in order are: Analyze, Weatherize, Electrify, & Solarize. I’m happy to help you learn more about each of these steps and hook you up with experienced auditors and installers or a Smart Energy Choices Advisor in your area. The best way to reach me is via email or call and leave a message to get back to you.  HeatSmart Tompkins leadership presents Earth Stewardship award to Salt Point Brewery Co. owners. (L to R) Jonathan Comstock, Sarah Hesse, Chris Hesse, Lisa Marshall. photo by Kitty Gifford On Wednesday, HeatSmart Tompkins presented Earth Stewardship awards to three Tompkins County businesses: Florae Collaborative, Greenstar Cooperative Market, & Salt Point Brewing. "HeatSmart Tompkins is pleased to highlight these businesses that demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment to sustainability. Their climate-friendly business practices include outfitting their buildings with air source or ground source heat pumps," said Lisa Marshall, HeatSmart Tompkins director. Salt Point Brewing in Lansing, NY, hosted the award ceremony. They also catered the event with specialty pizzas, flatbreads, and dips featuring locally sourced ingredients. "Salt Point Brewing was founded on the ideal of holding space for the community in a way that uplifts the community," said Sarah Hesse, co-owner. "Beyond producing great beer and food, we are committed to sustainable business operations with a focus on using New York State grown ingredients and supporting local agriculture. We are proud to be a certified New York State Farm Brewery, meaning we source most of our grain and hops from NYS farms." See video about Salt Point Brewing produced by HeatSmart Tompkins: "GreenStar Food Co-op supports sustainability by heating and cooling its new store with air source heat pumps and solar-generated electricity. They also provide a broad selection of organic and locally sourced dairy, meats, fruits, and vegetables," said Jonathan Comstock, HeatSmart co-founder. "Greenstar's innovative store design was a collaborative effort among the John Snyder Architects, Taitem Engineering, the owners, members, and the Ithaca community."  HeatSmart Tompkins leadership presents Earth Stewardship award to GreenStar Food Co-op. (L to R) Kara Cusolito, Marilyn Chase, Jonathan Comstock, Eldred harris, Bryan Smith, Lisa Marshall. photo by Kitty Gifford Accepting the award on behalf of GreenStar were Marilyn Chase, President; Kara Cusolito, Vice-President; Eldred Harris, Council Member; and Bryan Smith, Facilities Manager. Unfortunately, Ryan Georgia, owner of Florae, a business specializing in rare tropical plants grown from tissue cultures, could not attend Wednesday's event. Florae Collaborative's new greenhouses on West Hill feature a geothermal heating system installed by HeatSmart installer partner Daily Electric.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Happy April, Green Beings! As this month’s charts indicate, high prices for energy, including 100% renewable electricity, along with wait lists for subscription solar, continue. No need to fret. There are plenty of ways to reduce our energy use, save money, and draw down our carbon impact. A recent Drawdown Solutions Analysis reveals that individual and household actions can reduce 25-30% of the total emissions needed to avoid a >1.5 C degree rise in average global temperature. What are we waiting for? Let the wild carbon drawdown begin!  Customer Journey Map | NOTE: Time-line defines maximum time frames. Milestones may be completed sooner. Site Visit Date and Report Review Call scheduled at customer’s convenience. Energy Studies for Small Commercial and Not-For-Profit Entities Do you have a commercial building that is ready for electrification? Sign up with Taitem Engineering for a Green Jobs, Green NY energy study. NYSERDA will share the cost of an energy study for eligible businesses and Not-For-Profit organizations through the Green Jobs Green New York (GJGNY) program. This study will help owners and their teams understand and potentially reduce their carbon emissions. The energy assessment evaluates your building’s lighting, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, building envelope, domestic hot water, controls, motors, and cooling/refrigeration (as applicable). After, you receive a report that focuses on measures that are cost-effective to implement and provides valuable information to help you make informed energy decisions. What’s Included:
Eligible Participants
Ready to get started?
Reach out to the Taitem Engineering team for an energy study: Crista Shopis, Senior Engineer, CSHOPIS@TAITEM.COM  High utility bills have you concerned? Join us on Wednesday, March 16th at 6:30PM for this webinar and discussion: “Know Your Utility Rights” webinar and discussion with The Public Utility Law Project (PULP) This winter has brought historically high energy bills to our region. Maybe you’ve seen some of the local media coverage. Or maybe NYSEG has sent you an outrageously high bill. The combination of the cold winter weather and global price spikes for so-called natural gas (aka fracked gas) have led to shocking utility bills for many of us. This is not only a local issue, but a regional and global one as well. One thing for sure, this price spike highlights the importance of ending our reliance on fossil fuels as soon as possible! These high bills come at a truly terrible time for many households. According to The Public Utility Law Project (PULP): There are now almost 1.3 million New York households trapped in arrears owing more than $1.7 billion in energy utility costs and hundreds of millions of dollars more in telephone, water, and broadband utility arrears. New York’s utility consumer debt crisis is dire. Between the onset of the pandemic’s economic impacts in February of 2020, and December of 2021, as shown in the attached energy consumer arrears analysis, energy utility consumers’ debt increased by more than $960 million. If you are a constituent of Anna Kelles', her office is collecting information from constituents in order to better understand recent NYSEG billing concerns. Fill out this short survey to let her know what you are experiencing. If you have a different Assemblyperson, you might want to reach out to them.  What can I do about my bill right now?
 Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Yes, energy prices are rising…Supply is low…Demand is high…It’s cold. It’s a good time to get a free home energy assessment to check if your home is adequately weatherized, so that you can reduce your energy use while staying warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. I look forward to hearing about your positive and negative experiences with Subscription Solar companies and ESCOs. Your experiences are an important part of my vetting process.  Remember: The key to saving money is reducing your energy use wherever and whenever possible.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator For those of you who follow my 100% Renewable Electricity ESCO chart updates and Subscription Solar chart updates: This month, just a Subscription Solar chart has been updated as there is additional clarifying work to be done prior to finalizing the upcoming ESCO chart in order to provide you with accurate information. For those of you who are interested in what utilities are buying on your behalf (if you accept your utility’s default electricity supply) and those who want New York to reach its climate goals, you’ll want to make sure you grab a chair and sit down before reading on. Last week, the 2020 New York Generation Attribute Tracking System (NYGATS) report was unveiled, showing the fuel mixes purchased by the seven NYS utilities and all of the electricity ESCOs that serve New York. We can talk about New York’s renewable energy capacity and production, but where the rubber meets the road is right here—the energy that is purchased and sent to the grid on our behalf—the energy sending or not sending greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, affecting climate stability. Let’s take a look at NYSEG’s mix for 2020, along with most years since 2006:  So, what are we seeing here? - We see WIND has recovered from a dip in 2019 and is back to 3% of the mix, although this is half of the 6% it provided from 2013-2015. - We see that SOLAR has finally jumped into the race at 2% from its previous < 1%. - We see that COAL at 2% continues its decline. - We see that hydro at 12% continues its decline. - We see that RENEWABLES as a whole rose a bit more than 1%, but that EMISSION-FREE ELECTRICITY dropped more than 2% during 2020. I saved the most painful take-aways for last: - With the shutdown of Indian Point nuclear power plant’s Unit 2 on April 30, 2020, we see a 3% drop in NUCLEAR from 2019 along with a 4% increase in NATURAL GAS (METHANE). - With the retirement of Indian Point’s Unit 3 on April 30th, 2021, marking the permanent shut-down of the Indian Point plant, predict for me what we’ll see in the 2021 NYGATS? 31% NUCLEAR? 49% NATURAL GAS? 49% emission-free electricity? Go ahead and argue with me. Make it not so. Need I remind folks that the rapid drawdown of atmospheric methane buys us the time we need to prevent out-of-control climate chaos? Let me just say that no matter what we decide about NUCLEAR in the long term, we simply can’t allow its rapid reduction prior to ramping up renewable electricity and storage. Again—go ahead and argue with me. Make it not so. If you think that NYSEG’s NYGATS data differs markedly from the rest of the utilities’ data, take a look at the attached chart that includes all seven utilities’ NYGATS data from 2016 to 2020. On that somber note, I’ll wish you Happy Holidays! I’m here as always for your questions and comments.  By Milena Bimpong, HeatSmart Intern Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: one building at a time The buildings that we enter and leave every day - whether for school, work, or other purposes - greatly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Read about the New York State Senate bill that aims to change this! The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) stated that 74% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2019 came from fossil fuels. Buildings play a major role in these emissions - according to Architecture 2030, buildings emit nearly 40% of global carbon dioxide annually, with 28% coming from operations and 11% from materials and construction. Moving away from fossil fuel infrastructure and transitioning to clean energy is crucial for mitigating climate change, which is impacting our planet at an alarming rate. The NY State Senate Bill S6843A, also known as the "All-Electric Building Act," aims to take a step in the right direction. What is the "All-Electric Building Act"? The bill (S6843A), sponsored by Senator Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn), only allows permits for the construction of a new building to be issued if the building will be all-electric after December 31st, 2023. What does the timeline look like for the All-Electric Building Act? The original bill was introduced in May 2021 and was amended in October 2021. The bill is currently in the Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee. Advocates are pushing for the bill to be passed during the 2022 legislative session. What does "all-electric" mean? All-electric buildings use electricity solely for space heating, cooking, and hot water. The electric power grid powers all-electric buildings. New York's power grid is already relatively low carbon, and New York has set a goal for a 100% renewably powered grid by [some date]. Why go all-electric? According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 29% of U.S. end-use energy consumption in 2020 came from residential and commercial sectors. The energy consumption in most U.S. buildings comes from these two sectors. Since this is more than a quarter of the total end-use energy consumption, electrification will significantly reduce fossil fuel emissions in the U.S. What is the purpose of this bill? This bill aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and indoor air pollution in new buildings, which will reduce New York State's emissions overall. Further, this bill will send a strong market signal in favor of heat pumps for all NYS buildings. How will this bill impact New York State? Electrifying buildings is a major step towards achieving the goals of the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which was signed into law in July 2019. Some goals of this law include achieving 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040 and an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The New York State Climate Action Council created a Scoping Plan that outlines recommendations to achieve these goals. How will this bill impact the United States? With this bill cementing New York as a leader in mitigating climate change, other states may also begin to follow suit with similar legislation. The Biden administration aims to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, limit global warming to 1.5°C, and reach 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. Electrifying buildings contributes to achieving all of these goals. According to the Biden administration, electrification in buildings also has positive economic impacts, such as creating jobs. If this bill is passed, when will it take effect? If passed, it will take effect immediately. What can I do to support this bill as a New York State resident?  The Renewable Heat Now campaign is sponsoring an Unfrack NYS Homes & Buildings 2022 Legislation town hall on Wednesday, December 1st, from 6-7 p.m., which is open for all to attend. Can't join on Wednesday, but want to be involved? Sign up using this form. Show your support: Sign this petition. Where can I find more information? You can read the full text of the bill here. In addition, you can find information about New York's climate action initiatives here, where you can sign up to receive email updates about New York State climate news and developments. Sources:
 Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Happy November, Green Beings! “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,….” --from the opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities CLIMATE CHEERS - Last week, Ithaca’s Common Council, voted to decarbonize its 6000 buildings! CLIMATE JEERS – Greenidge Power Plant is seeking to expand its bitcoin mining operation. and Adam Weitsman gears up to mine cryptocurrency in Owego. People ask: “What can I do? I’m just one person.” Believe me, you can help mitigate climate chaos in so many ways. You and I = WE and our actions ripple out far and wide!
 Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Happy October, Green Beings! I want to call your attention to two important items: 1) As you know, over the past year, I have not been able to find a second ESCO to add to the ESCO chart. ECA’s Renewable Plan is the sole ESCO meeting my criteria of the average 12-month price being less than 2 cents per kWh higher than the utility fossil-nuclear mix price, ethical marketing practices, verifiable REC (Renewable Energy Certificate) purchases in New York’s NYGATs database, and few or no complaints submitted to the Public Service Commission or Better Business Bureau. While some people would prefer that ECA's renewable plan did not include biogas in its electricity mix, many realize that capturing landfill biogas is better than allowing methane to escape into the atmosphere. However, starting this year, New York’s Climate Action Council will not allow biogas to be defined as renewable. Therefore, ECA’s renewable plan will consist of wind and hydroelectric, no biogas. The ESCO chart (linked above) will continue to say biogas, wind, and hydro until the 2021 NYGATS verifies ECA’s purchased RECs. If you need further clarification on this, let me know. 2) If you are subscribed to a solar project and receive solar credits on your utility bill, please look at your bill each month to ensure that the solar credits are not zero. If they are zero or surprisingly low, call your subscription solar company to report and resolve this issue. I’m always happy to answer questions and help you find ways to reduce your energy use and costs and to offer ideas and resources to decarbonize your home or small business.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Happy September, Green Beings! September charts are linked above for:
A NOTE OF CAUTION Please know that signing up for anything, including Community Solar or an ESCO, with a door-to-door sales representative is not advisable. I receive many calls each month related to families visited by sales reps providing them with wrong information. Feel free to contact me regarding any sales rep visit, company flyer, or phone call prior to signing paperwork. You may be able to learn more from me and I can continue to gather data on sales tactics in order to help remove dirty dealings from the clean energy business. We can do this!  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and FAQ: and 100% Renewable Electricity chart.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Happy August, Green Beings! Visit the links for Subscription Solar Chart and FAQ as well as the 100% Renewable ESCO Chart, all 3 updated for August. WHAT’S DIFFERENT? Subscription Solar Having been ‘on probation’ several times, you’ll see that Solar Farms NY is off the chart for now. Why? When customers wish to leave a Subscription Solar plan, they should be able to do so within a set time period, which is typically 60-90 days. However, if for some reason, solar credits continue to be posted on your utility bill many months after you have notified a company that you wish to cancel and you continue to be billed for them, this is unacceptable. Another reason SFNY is off the chart is that a service representative provided me with wrong information. To me, this indicates the lack of adequate staff training. What should you do if you are signed up with SFNY, happy with them, and aren’t planning to cancel? I would recommend that you continue to enjoy receiving your 5% discount with them. There is no reason to panic. 100% Renewable ESCO Yes, ESCO, singular tense. I sure wish there were several. A particular joy item would be a fixed price option. However, establishing a fixed 12 or 24 month price can be a scary prospect for an ESCO after seeing NYS REC prices shoot up over the past year. Hopefully, a solution will be found by NYSERDA, NYPA, and the PSC to soften these price leaps and create a more predictable market. That being said, Energy Coop of America’s Renewable Plan continues to be an honorable choice, keeping the price low, even though its rate is variable. By November, we’ll be able to see the percentages of its renewable sources for 2020, which look to be at least 50% biogas (landfill gas) with wind and hydro making up the balance. Note that until we remove organics from our landfills, tapping the resultant biogas emissions is important. I’m sure you agree that every bit of methane we can keep out of the atmosphere is critical to buying us the time we need to achieve a livable climate. Starting this year, biogas will not be included as a renewable electricity source, so we’ll see if ECA continues to be a reliable 100% renewable ESCO. Here for you I look forward to hearing about your positive and negative experiences with Subscription Solar companies and ESCOs. Your experiences are an important part of my vetting process.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar chart and 100% Renewable Electricity chart.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator MAYDAY ALERT #1 While under the administration of MEGA (Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance), residents of five municipalities lost their 100% renewable CCA electricity plans this month!: Village of Owego, Village of Elmira Heights, Village of Horseheads, Town of Union, and Town of Lebanon and are now back with a planet-heating standard grid mix. Long story. I’ll spare you, but feel free to ask. What to do??? My recommendation is to consider signing up for Energy Coop of America’s 100% renewable plan [100% Renewable Electricity Chart] Although it is a variable plan, the annual average price continues to be just 1 cent/kilowatt-hour higher than NYSEG’s fossil-nuclear mix. The key to saving money is reducing your energy use wherever and whenever possible. MAYDAY ALERT #2 Remember those cute young folks knocking on your door, wanting to sign you up for a ESCO for your electricity supply that would save you money over your utility’s default supply? But then the Public Service Commission got tough on them and the pandemic eliminated this practice for the most-part. Well guess what, they’re B A C K, this time hawking subscription community solar plans. Many of you have contacted me over the last month, concerned about this practice and wondering about the legitimacy of the companies involved. I know that YOU know better, but I’m asking you to perform a public service and spread the word to:
AND, you have a second opportunity to perform a public service when your visitor arrives at your door by doing the following:
Thank you for your public service! It would be helpful to me if you were to let me know as well because I’m tracking this issue. Even if they do have a peddler/solicitor license, I would like to know what they did and said. We need to quickly nip this practice in the bud! Meanwhile, visit my July Subscription Solar chart. Solar Farms NY is ‘on probation’ (grey-toned) at this time for two reasons:
Lisa Marshall joined Carl on Ithaca's Evening News to discuss ways to keep your home cooler this summer with heat pumps.
As our summers are getting hotter, access to cooling is becoming a health issue. More and more we are starting to think about cooling as a need, rather than a luxury. Heat pumps both heat and cool homes, so they are a wonderful solution to your heating and cooling needs. A great place to get started is right here on our website. Enroll here and you can get a free no-obligation home assessment by one of our expert partner installers. HeatSmart Tompkins is here to help you, answer questions, go over proposals, etc.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar update and 100% Renewable Electricity update.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator What’s new with Subscription Community Solar?
What’s new with 100% Renewable Electricity ESCOs? Let’s first talk about NYSEG’s fossil-nuclear default plan. You’ll be shocked at NYSEG’s rate listing this month that reflects May’s average price: 7.45 cents/kWh! This is 3 cents/kWh higher than NYSEG’s trailing 12-month average. Why did this occur? A major temperature spike? A sharp increase in demand? Nope. A combination of factors is speculated: the impact of retirement of the Indian Point nuclear plant driving up fossil fuel-generated electricity; the anticipated higher post-pandemic natural gas load; and anticipated higher levels of congestion with planned transmission upgrades. Meanwhile, Energy Coop of America’s (ECA’s)100% renewable plan remains the only reasonably priced ESCO sporting no customer complaints.  HeatSmart Tompkins invites local heat pump and building envelope experts serving Tompkins and/or Chemung Counties to apply for partnership in our 2021-2022 Campaigns. HeatSmart campaigns provide personal outreach to community groups along with broad advertising efforts to generate more jobs for participating businesses (Installer partners). Installer partners receive leads through the program and are also personally presented to the community at public meetings and on webinars.
Apply by filling out this application by June 11th, 2021 The primary focus is on residential buildings for single- or small multi- family buildings, with an emphasis on retrofitting and improving the existing housing stock and heating systems in our area. We also reach out to small businesses and those planning to construct new buildings. The territory covered by the program includes Tompkins and Chemung Counties with a special emphasis on the gas constrained Town of Lansing. Please contribute your expertise to this effort, grow your business, and help us improve the energy efficiency of buildings in these communities! We are seeking multiple installers to work closely with the HeatSmart Tompkins team as trusted campaign partners and serve the public by installing home weatherization and relevant clean heating and cooling technologies while helping to expand awareness of these technologies over the course of the program. Technologies offered include air-source heat pumps (ASHP), including space heating (dual-fuel and stand-alone central air systems) and heat pump water heaters (HPWH), and ground-source heat pumps (GSHP). The goals of HeatSmart Tompkins include:
The selected installer(s) will work collaboratively with the HeatSmart Tompkins team to implement a one year community marketing and outreach campaign from July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022. The selected Installer(s) will receive leads and will be actively promoted to the community as HeatSmart Tompkins’s competitively-selected Installer(s). Questions or concerns? Call Lisa Marshall at 850-291-5259 or e-mail at Lisa@HeatSmartTompkins.org 
An energy-efficient home is an investment that you get to enjoy every day and one that pays dividends to both you and planet earth. Spring is a great time to get a home energy assessment and schedule insulation and air sealing work. If you've been considering heat pumps, why not get them now so you can enjoy the air conditioning all summer long? If you're scheduling any home improvements, use that opportunity to get off fossil fuels entirely with high-performance electric appliances such as an induction cooktop or heat pump dryer. We're excited to be working with the towns of Caroline, Enfield, Dryden, Ithaca, Newfield, Ulysses, and Veteran on community campaigns for clean heating and cooling. These municipalities can earn a $5000 grant from NYSERDA if ten households get insulation and/or heat pumps (including heat pump water heaters) installed. If your town is not on the list, but you think it should be, let's talk! See link below to set up a meeting. In April, we are hosting two webinars:
Missed a webinar? Or want to revisit our installer case studies and online presentations? Visit our video resources page. We were recently featured in a Tompkins Weekly story: Home Improvement: Save money and energy this spring In the story, HeatSmart program director Lisa Marshall discusses home improvements and notes that during this past pandemic year “we actually found quite a bit of interest amongst the public in having a home energy assessment done because people were home, and they started to be really interested more than ever in their home comfort, their energy bills and their indoor air quality — all three things that were an unexpected side effect of the pandemic.” How do I participate? The best first step is to enroll in the HeatSmart Program, which takes only 3-4 minutes, and request one or more free assessments.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar update and 100% Renewable Electricity update.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator There is another ESCO coming on the scene that I’m excited about, but cannot yet add to the chart because their customer service is not yet up to par. I’m hopeful for this to change! Consolidated Billing For those of you who subscribe to a Community Solar project, when will you no longer receive a bill from your solar company and both solar credits and payment will be consolidated on your utility bill? Response from NYSEG: “Consolidated billing is an optional program that the utilities now offer to VDER CDG Projects. NYSEG has had good interest in the program with about 40% of eligible projects opting into consolidated billing. Customers enrolled with these projects should start seeing a single bill within the next few months as NYSEG is phasing projects into the consolidated billing program.”  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar update and 100% Renewable Electricity update.
By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Today I am also sharing a way for you to level up your energy literacy. There are still a few spaces open in Get Your Greenback Tompkins' Energy Navigator Program! To learn more, visit their website. I remain vigilant in trying to provide more than one option for you that meets my criteria of 'price no more than 2 cents/kWh over NYSEG's rate' (yet is WAY cleaner), good customer service, zero or very few customer complaints, and purchases RECs from New York State renewable electricity sources. Losing Clearview's fixed low rate was a sad experience. At least we have one ESCO on the list...ECA Renewable. It isn't a fixed price, but it meets all of my criteria, including zero customer complaints to the PSC...That's something about which to be proud! All is chuggin' along well with Subscription Community Solar. If you don't have your own panels and haven't signed up as yet, you may want to sign up now while solar panels are free of snow and the days are getting longer! Subscription Solar is a can't lose proposition. Also, not too long from now, there will be consolidated billing, with all data on your utility bill, ending the need for two payments.  If there's one thing the cold winter here in New York is telling us, it is that a well-insulated home is your best protection against winter weather damage and high energy bills. Ice dams on roofs can cause tremendous damage, water infiltration, and mold. Here is a resource for some steps you can take to protect your roof, the most important step of all is ensuring that your roof is properly insulated and ventilated. Fortunately, there's never been a better time to enroll with HeatSmart and get a free assessment for an insulation upgrade! Until June, income-qualified households are eligible for grants to pay for insulation and air sealing. If you're in a higher earning category, ask us whether the Comfort Home program might be right for you. It's not too late to be a part of the Heat Pump Demonstration Pilot Study now being conducted by NYSERDA. There has been tremendous interest in this short-term opportunity, so don't delay! Scroll down to see some real examples of heat pump systems installed with grant money through the study. Join our Heat Pump Pilot Study webinar on March 10 at noon to learn more. Heat Pump Pilot Study Examples
EventsRegister for an upcoming webinar on clean heating and cooling Weds, March 10 from noon-1pm :: Register Now Heat Pump Pilot Study NYSERDA is conducting a Heat Pump Pilot Study to learn how heat pumps can benefit low-to-moderate income households in NY. Join the HeatSmart team to learn if you're a good candidate for this short term opportunity that will provide deeply discounted heat pumps to low-to-moderate income households that are heating with any fuel except gas. Weds, March 24 from 7-8pm :: Register Now Getting the Most out of Your Heat Pump System Congratulations! You just got a new heat pump system (or you are about to get one)! This webinar will go over how to use your system to maximize comfort and efficiency. We will also go over best practices for maintenance. Weds, April 14 from noon-1pm :: Register Now Tax Time! Join us to learn about federal tax credits for heat pumps and other clean energy technologies. A basic overview of heat pumps will also be provided. Weds, April 28 from 7-8pm :: Register Now Campaign for Clean Heat Join the HeatSmart team to learn about the movement for clean heat at the local level, the state level and the national level. #HeatPumpsNotPipelines Become an Energy Navigator!
Recent Webinars
 Those icicles hanging from your house may look beautiful, but you'll want to be on the look out for ice dams that can form on the edge of the roofline.
Ice dams are formed when attic heat warms the roof and melts the snow. Melted snow flows to the edge of the roof, where it freezes again. As snow continues to melt, water can accumulate behind the layer of ice that forms and can back up underneath roof shingles and leak into the attic space. This Old House compiled some great steps you can take to protect your roof, and the rest of your home, and the most important steps include ensuring that your roof is properly insulated and ventilated. This is because the number one problem is undesirable attic heat. Too little insulation, too little ventilation, or a combination of the two create the conditions for ice dams. Learn more in this resourceful article from This Old House: How to Get Rid of Ice Dams Visit our incentives page for information about home weatherproofing incentives. And view our webinar archive with informative topics such as the "ABCs of Home Performance".  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar update and 100% Renewable Electricity update. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Progress? Have you seen the movie, “Groundhog Day” in which a weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again? Well, Groundhog Day is over, but you’d never know it by looking at NYSEG’s electricity supply for us. In fact, as you see in above chart, the percentages of renewables and greenhouse gas emission-free electricity were higher in 2009 than they were ten years later in 2019! We can do better than this! Let’s make sure our friends and family know that Subscription Community Solar and 100% Renewable ESCOs are available. What’s new with Subscription Community Solar this month? As solar projects reach capacity, new ones are being built, so if you haven’t purchased solar panels, you might consider doing so, or consider subscribing to a solar project. Delaware River Solar and Nexamp are building new projects now and Solar Farms NY still has available space. Get yourself on one of the waiting lists, as projects can reach capacity quickly. What’s new with 100% Renewable Electricity ESCOs? I’m still awaiting the magical appearance of a second plan from which to choose. Why is Energy Coop of America’s renewable plan still the only plan I can list? Because it is the only one meeting my criteria:
Note that if you live in a community that’s part of a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) with default 100% renewable electricity (such as Village of Owego, Town of Union, Village of Horseheads, Village of Elmira Heights), you may already be subscribed to an ESCO that fairly well meets these criteria. Check your NYSEG bill to see if an ESCO called ‘Constellation New Energy’ is listed or drop me a note and we’ll figure it out together.  Image: Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo On Wednesday, January 13th, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced New York State’s plan for an ambitious $26 billion green energy initiative to build renewable energy projects throughout the state. “Nature is telling us, ‘do something, or I will,’” Governor Cuomo said. “The time to act is now, and New York is proud to be a leader in clean energy initiatives.”
In the third part of his annual State of the State address, Governor Cuomo described this green energy-focused investment plan as a post-COVID opportunity for economic growth that will enable New Yorkers to reach our climate goals, which include the achievement of 70% renewable energy use by 2030 and carbon-free electricity generation by 2040 (Strategic Outlook for 2020-2023, NYSERDA). Cuomo laid out the components of his plan*:
To meet these goals, solar and on- and off-shore wind projects will be constructed throughout the state, and are said to “create nearly 11,000 jobs in Upstate NY alone.” Most notably, these off-shore wind and land-based renewable projects will:
For those of us interested in seeing substantial action from our elected representatives regarding the climate, this is an incredibly exciting time as the Governor discussed transmission projects to break up the congestion in the energy grid, and battery storage projects that will allow for storage of renewable energy to meet the energy needs of 1.2 million NY homes. The state plans to invest $20 million in a new Offshore Wind Training Institute, which will train 2,500 workers in the field of renewable energy, including solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Additionally, the Governor made note of the environmental injustice regarding communities of color. These communities have historically had weaker access to renewable sources of energy, which leads to disproportionately high rates of adverse health effects, increasingly evident during the current pandemic. It is clear that communities of color are in mind for the expansion of green job opportunities and green technology adoption. As the Governor noted, “the evolution to green energy will involve replacing home heating and cooling systems in approximately 130,000 buildings with heat pumps and geothermal heating.” This goal is taken seriously by HeatSmart Tompkins. Our mission is to provide renewable energy education and outreach to our local community. Our volunteer-led team has been fighting against fossil fuels since the advent of our program in 2015. Governor Cuomo’s announcement of this green energy investment plan is another large step for New Yorkers towards our climate goals, with the support of our elected officials. This is something to be celebrated as hope for a better future. HeatSmart Tompkins fully supports the stance that “we must replace fossil fuel plants with clean power…. and now is the time to do it.” While we are proud to see our representatives putting their words into action, let’s not forget that this is the result of decades of advocacy for the adoption of clean energy across New York State, by New Yorkers. Involvement by our neighbors and communities in adoption of clean energy is crucial for progress to be made. Below are some options you have to make a difference for your home, community, and planet now.  Note: To power your home with renewable energy, see the most recent Subscription Community Solar update and 100% Renewable Electricity update. By Gerri Wiley, HeatSmart volunteer and Energy Navigator Do you know anyone who still buys their electricity supply from NYSEG or any other New York State utility? If they do, what exactly are they buying? Solar? Wind? Hydro? You might expect that, over the years, renewables would be an increasing percentage of utility purchases on our behalf. Is this true? The percentages for year 2019 just rolled this month, and here is the 2019 data, along with data from 2016, 2017, and 2018.  As you see, overall, the utilities purchased the same percent of natural gas for you in 2019 as in 2018, about 2.4% more nuclear, about 2.6% less hydro, slightly less wind, and slightly less coal.
So, if we’re planning to green the grid, we certainly can’t wait for the utilities to do it on our behalf. It’s time to grab the reins. The updated Subscription Solar and 100% Renewable Electricity ESCO options available as well. I invite you email me with your questions and send people my way so I can help them find solutions to their clean energy needs and their wish to make a difference. |
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