Creating Jobs, Protecting the Environment and Saving Money

(Suffern, NY) In an effort to help homeowners and businesses save money on their energy costs, Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Orange) informed residents of how  to make energy efficiency upgrades in their homes or businesses with no out of pocket expense.

“The Power NY Act of 2011 will enhance the Green Jobs program by incentivizing homeowners to upgrade their homes without taking any money out of their pocket, this will save families money, create jobs and protect our environment,” Senator Carlucci said.

After the audit the contractor explains what improvements can be made and develops a proposal detailing all of their recommendations, including associated costs and energy savings estimates. 

“The New York Green Jobs bill created a win, win, win opportunity for New Yorkers. The State lowers its carbon footprint, homeowners can save up to 40% of their utility cost with no money out of their pocket and New York gets to create over 50,000 sustainable jobs. The big challenge now is to make homeowners aware of the program and then motivate them to take advantage of it,” said Rudy Scott, President of Energy Management Solutions.

The audit is FREE to New York residents with incomes less than 200% of the median county income.  A sliding scale is used to determine the costs for residents between 200%-400% of median county income.  Residents with income greater than 400% will pay the full cost of the audit which ranges from $50-$100.

The chart below taken from NYSERDA’s website outlines the median incomes in Rockland and Orange counties. http://www.nyserda.org/GreenNY/documents/2010-06-25_county_median_income.pdf)

Currently, GJGNY financing is available to participants in the Home Performance Energy Star Program to finance the installation of the recommended energy efficiency improvements.  Loans, for residential properties, are capped at $13,000.  Repayment periods are available for 5, 10 and 15 years. 

In an effort to make it easier for New Yorkers to finance these projects the Legislature this session passed Power NY which directs NYSERDA to establish an on-bill financing program for energy efficiency upgrades made possible through the Green Jobs/Green New York program.  The program will provide loans to residential property owners for energy efficiency upgrades aimed at reducing utility costs.  With on-bill financing, the homeowner will be able to repay the loan in monthly installments on his or her utility bill at an amount less than the energy cost savings associated with the upgrades.

Power NY is expected to be signed into law by Governor Cuomo in the next few months.

Small businesses with 100 employees or less or any not-for-profit can also take advantage of these programs.  GJGNY Small Business and Not-for-Profit Energy Efficiency Financing Program works with lenders statewide to provide eligible small-businesses and not-for-profits with access to low-interest energy efficiency project financing.

New Yorkers interested in learning how they can participate in these cost saving programs should call Senator Carlucci’s office at 623-3627 or visit his website at www.senatorcarlucci.com.