ALBANY – The community of New Castle has been designated as the first small community in New York – fewer than 40,000 residents – and the first in Westchester County to be designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The designation recognizes the leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy in its communities.
New Castle received the designation for completing four of 10 high-impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative. It gives the town an opportunity to apply for up to $100,000 toward additional clean energy projects, with no local cost share.
To earn the Clean Energy Community designation, New Castle completed four high-impact clean energy actions – implemented community choice aggregation; established an Energize New York finance program; approved an energy benchmarking policy; and adopted the state unified solar permit.
Ulster County was recently named as the first Clean Energy Community in the state.
