Upcoming Community Solar Webinar!: Upcoming Community Solar Webinar! Location: Virtual Webinar   Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025   Time: 6:00 to 7:00pm EST   Register Here!    EnergySmart CNY is hosting an informational webinar to help inform CNY residents about community solar opportunities. Community solar is a New York State regulated program that can provide monthly electricity bill discounts between 5% to 20%. Join us for an informational webinar to learn about the program, how to enroll, why it’s a good option for anyone who cannot install solar on their roof including renters, and get answers to questions you may have.  ________________________________________________________________________________________ Share your feedback on the State's Climate Action Plan! In 2023, DEC was awarded a nearly $3 million planning grant through the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. The planning grants require awardees to complete three deliverables: a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP), and a Status Report. The PCAP was submitted in March 2024 and outlined near-term, high-impact greenhouse gas emission reduction measures. The PCAP was intended to leverage $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants from EPA. While New York State was not awarded implementation funding, the state’s PCAP enabled Hudson Valley Regional Council’s $3 million implementation grant award to reduce fugitive methane emissions from closed landfills, promote the installation of solar arrays, battery storage systems, native pollinator gardens, and create long-term ecosystem stewardship plans for former landfills.   The CCAP is due in late 2025 and will further touch on all significant GHG emissions sources from all sectors, establish near and long-term GHG emission goals, and provide strategies to achieve those goals. These two planning activities are drawing heavily on the Scoping Plan from the Climate Action Council, which was developed to implement the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The state is now looking for feedback on their CCAP. TAKE THE SURVEY HERE! ______________________________________________________________________________________________ The DEC announced that funding is now available for electric vehicles and charging stations for municipalities! The next round of the Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Infrastructure Grant program and the Municipal ZEV Rebate program are now open for applications. A total of $5 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and $585,000 for municipalities to purchase electric vehicles for fleet use are available.