As part of his ongoing efforts to tap green technologies to protect the environment and lower operating costs, County Executive Robert P. Astorino on Thursday announced passage of a plan to study outfitting county buildings with renewable energy capabilities.
The plan, which was approved Thursday, June 27 by the county's Board of Acquisition and Contract, will look into the application and use of solar and geothermal energy at the county's Public Labs Building in Valhalla, Westchester County Public Safety Headquarters in Hawthorne, and 375 Executive Boulevard in Elmsford.
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will conduct the study on behalf of Westchester County under the terms of an existing agreement, and at no additional cost to county taxpayers.
"Since day one, my administration has sought to protect taxpayers by reducing the size and operating cost of county government. We have also made protecting the environment a priority," Astorino said. "By moving toward the use of clean, renewable energy at county buildings, such as solar and geothermal power, we have a terrific opportunity to combine those two important principles."
Last year, Astorino ordered a preliminary internal review of all county owned facilities in order to determine the feasibility of implementing different types of renewable energy. That review was also conducted at no additional cost to taxpayers by the county's Department of Public Works.
The initial study concluded that three buildings in particular met specific requirements (e.g., square footage, integrity of existing structure, relation to the ground and sunlight) that made them ideal candidates for further study by a specialized agency.
Westchester County already purchases electricity for its own use from NYPA. Leveraging that existing public partnership, Astorino secured an agreement from NYPA to conduct a comprehensive study of renewable energy at the three facilities including a full cost efficiency review.
Specific locations of the buildings to be studied are as follows:
- Public Labs Building, 10 Dana Road, Valhalla Campus, Valhalla
- Westchester County Public Safety Headquarters, 1 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne
- 375 Executive Boulevard, Elmsford.
When the study is complete, NYPA will make recommendations for implementation at each building. Or, if the study shows that none of the buildings are suitable, it will then examine other county facilities to be determined later.
In a related action, Astorino extended a permanent sales tax exemption in 2011 to homeowners who install solar energy systems.
Other environmental initiatives sponsored by the Astorino administration include:
- Expansion of the county's recycling program to accept a broader array of recyclables including all coded plastics 1 through 7, and more types of metals and paper;
- Opened Household Material Recovery Facility that accepts hazardous waste such as household chemicals, gasoline, propane tanks, electronics, fluorescent bulbs, appliances and fire extinguishers;
- Started "Food Rescue Initiative" that utilizes a high tech food composter to recycle food waste from around the county and use it to fertilize gardens for the Food bank of Westchester;
- Switching to cleaner natural gas power at the Westchester County Airport and the Material Recovery Facility.