Finger Lakes Energy $mart Communities
– a NYSERDA Program

The New York Energy Smart Communities Program educates consumers and community leaders on the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable resources.  By partnering with local agencies and organizations, coordinators in 10 different regions of NY work to build the knowledge of energy efficiency, increase the awareness and participation in the NYSERDA programs and create a measurable reduction of carbon emissions.   NYSERDA’s goal is to reach the “45 x 15” Initiative, thus obtaining 45% of New York’s electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and clean renewable energy by 2015.

Energy $mart Communities is one of several NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) Programs.    NYSERDA funds its programs via a “service benefits charge (SBC) which is placed on electric utility bills.  All non-municipal utility companies (National Grid, RG&E, NYSEG, etc.) participate in the collection of these funds.   Since NYSERDA is a public benefit corporation, the work they do benefits both the local and state population as well as the economy. 

Lee Loomis and Haley Rotter are the Finger Lakes Energy $mart Communities Coordinators.    They work with communities, municipalities, commercial business owners and industrial manufacturers in a nine-county region (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wyoming and Yates).   They are asked to do a variety of tasks including: 

• Partnership Development
• Program Recruiting
• Managing Energy Target Zones
• Managing Anchor Projects
• Marketing and Education and Training and Development
  

They are the coordinators, not the implementers of these programs.  They are used as a resource, for their knowledge of the NYSERDA’s incentive and energy efficiency programs.  They target residential homeowners, renters, low-income residents, commercial/municipal/industrial customers, research and development projects and clean energy business development.  

A list of their programs can be found on www.getenergysmart.org.
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Energy $mart Communities

This program provides outreach and education to individual homeowners on energy efficiency options available to them. One of our staff serves as the coordinator in the Finger Lakes region of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Energy $mart Communities program.

Upstate Green Business Network (UGBN)

This program has been advancing environmental sustainability in Upstate New York since 2003. UGBN provides education, outreach and technical assistance on a variety of sustainable best practices and technologies to businesses, organizations, institutions, government and individual citizens. We do this by providing educational opportunities and exposure to successes and failures, offering technical assistance, and connecting those interested in implementing improvements with upstate suppliers of green services and products.