LOCH SHELDRAKE – SUNY Sullivan is renewing its commitment to sustainability through a $9.8 million energy efficiency and facilities upgrade project that will bring significant cost savings to Sullivan County and cement the college’s status as a model green campus in New York State.
The energy efficiency project, which includes replacing the campus’ failing 22-year-old boilers and 130 geothermal heat pumps, as well as installing high-efficiency windows, LED lighting, and other energy-saving upgrades to campus facilities, is being financed and implemented by the New York Power Authority, which will be reimbursed by the county with matching funding from the state through SUNY’s Office for Capital Facilities Community College Capital Program.
When complete, the project will result in significant energy and cost savings for Sullivan County, reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 400 metric tons and strengthening SUNY Sullivan’s leadership in environmental sustainability and social responsibility in the Catskills and across higher education.
The comprehensive upgrades are expected to generate $176,000 in annual energy and maintenance cost-savings. The project also advances the goals laid out in the BuildSmart2025 program, which calls for 11 trillion British thermal units of on-site energy savings in buildings owned by the state.
The energy efficiency improvements also directly support the goals of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which calls for greenhouse gas emissions from buildings to be reduced by 40 percent by the year 2030.
