Sullivan County Sustainability Coordinator Heather Brown stands proudly with the SolSmart Silver Award in front of SUNY Sullivan's solar farm.
Loch Sheldrake, NY – Sullivan County has received a Silver designation from the national SolSmart program in recognition of the County’s success in supporting solar energy development for towns, businesses, homeowners and to power County operations.
Representatives from NYS agencies and the Mid-Hudson Regional Council, as well as local solar developers, municipal leaders and legislators from neighboring counties, gathered on the SUNY Sullivan campus October 16 to celebrate the award and attend a half-day workshop on clean energy.
SolSmart is led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. More than 300 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016.
“We are proud of the steps we have taken to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development,” said County Manager Josh Potosek, himself a member of ICMA. “In addition to our own 2MW solar array in Liberty, which supplies more than 25% of the County’s electricity needs, and the 2MW array on the County-owned campus of SUNY Sullivan, we have welcomed the development of a number of community solar projects that provide County residents and businesses with lower cost renewable energy.”
To support solar development, Sullivan County has hosted informational sessions to help residents and business owners understand solar technology and access programs like Solarize New York, which provides low-cost financing for solar projects. The County has also joined the Energize New York (PACE) program, which helps commercial building owners finance on-site solar. And the County has hosted workshops and assisted individual towns to craft solar-friendly zoning and streamlined inspection and permitting processes, based upon the NY-Sun program’s model solar zoning and permitting initiatives.
“All of these efforts help make solar energy accessible for everyone at whatever scale,” said Heather Brown, Sustainability Coordinator in the Office of Sustainable Energy. “By smoothing the way for solar development, we are helping deliver low-cost renewably-generated energy to our homes and businesses and creating new jobs in the clean energy economy.”
SolSmart uses objective criteria to award communities points based on the actions they take to reduce barriers to solar energy development. Communities that take sufficient action are designated either Gold, Silver, or Bronze.
As part of the SolSmart program, a team of national experts provides no-cost technical assistance to help communities achieve designation. All cities and counties are eligible to join the SolSmart program and receive this assistance. Interested communities can learn more at SolSmart.org.