Albany Lawmakers Face Two Key Votes on Clean Energy Tuesday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mary Barber, (212) 616-1351, mbarber@edf.org
Evan Thies, 917-715-9265, erthies@yahoo.com

(New York, NY – November 9, 2009) Environmental advocates and elected officials are calling on the New York State Legislature to pass two key bills Tuesday that would save property-owners money, increase energy efficiency in buildings, and improve air quality statewide.

The federal government recently made more than $450 million available for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs, which would help defray the upfront cost to property-owners for building retrofits and efficiency improvements to save on energy bills. However, the state must pass enabling legislation to ensure eligibility for the funds.

“Passing this legislation is the right thing to do both environmentally and economically, especially in a tough economy,” said Mary Barber, New York Region Campaign Director for Environmental Defense Fund. “If we pass the bill tomorrow, we will be well-positioned to take our share of the federal funds, which can be used to enable thousands of New Yorkers to save millions of dollars in energy costs. If the bill isn’t passed, or is delayed, we may never see a dime, and energy inefficiency will cost us dearly over the long-term.”

Retrofits of older buildings can create an immediate 20 to 40 percent reduction in energy costs, leading to major savings for building-owners and their tenants. However, many people cannot afford the initial cost of installing energy efficiency and clean energy technology, such as double-insulated windows or solar panels. The PACE enabling legislation allows municipalities to lessen significantly the impact of these costs, by creating an extended loan program for building-owners that lets them pay for the improvements over a long period of time - up to 20 years - instead of all at once.

Last week, more than a dozen members of the New York congressional delegation wrote to Gov. Paterson in support of authorizing legislation, so that the Empire State will not lose out to other states for a share of the PACE money. In fact, 14 other states already have enacted authorizing legislation to make them eligible for the federal funding.

A second bill the legislature will consider on Tuesday would cut the sulfur content of the most commonly used type of heating oil in New York City, No. 2 heating oil, by more than a hundred-fold - from 2,000 parts per million allowable to 15 parts per million - by July 1, 2011.

“Reducing sulfur levels in No. 2 heating oil will help improve air quality, and lessen New York’s contribution to regional haze and acid rain,” Barber concluded. “However, to protect public health and reduce black carbon, we also need to phase-out the use of the most polluting heating oils which are No. 4 and No. 6 oil.”

Gov. Paterson has called a Special Session of the state legislature for Tuesday.

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