Events and associated evidence about local energy production and conservation can be found here in the Scenario Framework Navigation Tool.

Our overall goal is to reduce fossil fuel use and importation into the region. There are both environmental and economic reasons for doing so. Taking serious steps toward energy sustainability is critical to this strategy.

A major portion of our energy strategy is continuing efforts at conservation, especially through improvements to housing insulation, etc.  ANCA has a funded program in place for this effort.

• Continue promotions and incentives for housing rehab for energy efficiency

The State’s push to convert to renewable energy sources is well aligned with the goals of our plan. Much expanded use of biomass is a key part of this strategy and there are a number of feasibility and pilot programs underway.  Experience in Europe and Vermont has been positive with strong adoption.  Sloan Crawford in DEC Albany is working the questions about biomass volumes from private lands.

• Complete Redford municipal biomass heat project and other early adopters in area (e.g., Paul Smiths)
• Help the Northern Forest Center launch its residential biomass furnace demonstration program in Tupper Lake.  It will follow a successful model they used in Vermont.

The above 2 events are in process.  A number of biomass projects have been built, others are in the project pipeline.  The State’s plan to increase the share of renewables is now getting into full operation over the next few years.

• Refine State incentives for renewable energy to more fully align with the Park’s available renewables

The biomass effort will likely co-exist with a larger forest products industry, meaning more sawmills and perhaps a panel project like an Orient Strand Board plant.  Locally made wood products have potential to compete as construction materials, but they have to do so at competitive prices.

• The Northern Forest Center and Empire State Forest Products have worked on this for some time and we need to get current with their research.
• Is there a possibility of attracting a manufactured wood product like oriented strand board to a Park industrial location such as Clifton Fine?

The law regarding ‘community net metering’ which will apply to renewables like solar panels, wind, perhaps some existing small dams, is in process and should be voted on by year end.  A proliferation of small-scale distributed power generators requires modifications to the electric power distribution grid, which is currently oriented toward a few large, centralized generation stations.

• Pass legislation enabling community net metering (Senator Little is working on this, also Dan Mason at ANCA)
• Continue to fund changes to the electric power distribution grid to better use distributed power sources (This is certainly an issue that all the right parties are deeply aware of, we don’t know how to make it happen)