KINGSTON – The City of Kingston submitted an application to the state for support in building a community microgrid – a standalone energy system that can operate independently in the event of a power outage.
The application, if successful, would see the city receiving a $100,000 grant through the NY Prize initiative to conduct a feasibility study in developing such a system.
City Economic Development Director Gregg Swanzey said Kingston wants to develop an independent electric grid system to protect its vital services.
“The City of Kingston, we have right here in a cluster, City Hall, the hospital, school, the water department is right here, DPW, fire department. So we have in the neighborhood we have all kinds of assets sitting here, if we can figure out a way to make sure that they continue to operate in a catastrophe or some sort, or a storm, that we can be better prepared in the future,” Swanzey said.
Mayor Shayne Gallo said the city is particularly interested in exploring the benefits of the project following the impact of Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.
“We believe a microgrid could provide increased resiliency to extreme weather events and improve provision of power for our critical infrastructure,” Gallo said.
