Resources for Municipalities

Municipalities can pursue energy efficiency and clean energy projects that will reduce energy use and costs as well as create a healthier and more sustainable environment for their residents and businesses. Below is a guide to the programs that exist to help municipalities take on clean energy projects and a list of additional resources.

Build Ready Program

NYSERDA’s Build Ready Program helps identify underused land and makes it “build-ready” for renewable energy projects. Municipalities and private landowners can apply online to nominate a site for clean energy development.

Electric Vehicle ("EV") Make-Ready Program

The Electric Vehicle ("EV") Make-Ready Program ("EV Make-Ready Program") reduces the upfront costs of building charging stations for EVs. Through this program, entities seeking to install or participate in the installation of Level 2 ("L2") and/or Direct Current Fast Charging ("DCFC") chargers can earn incentives that will offset a large portion of, or in some cases, all the infrastructure costs associated with preparing a site for EV charger installation.

For more information, visit the Joint Utilities of New York website.

NY-Sun

The NY-Sun program provides incentives for solar installations and a list of qualified contractors and resources for communities and local governments. The NY Sun Incentives Dashboard provides information on currently available NYSERDA incentives for solar energy installations.

There are also “Adder” incentives in various regions:

  • Community Adder: available for a limited number of MW for projects that were developed after a utility’s Market Transition Credit and Community Credit were fully allocated.

  • Inclusive Community Solar Adder: available for community solar projects serving low-to-moderate income (LMI) subscribers, affordable housing, and other facilities serving disadvantaged communities.

  • Statewide Solar for All Adder: Community solar projects participating in the Statewide Solar for All (S-SFA) program may be eligible for the S-SFA Adder.

NYS Clean Heat

NYS Clean Heat is a partnership between NYSERDA and New York State’s utility companies to help homeowners save money and energy. Clean Heat offers rebates and financing opportunities on efficient, year-round heat pump technologies. You can look up rebates in your area by visiting Clean Heat’s rebate locator. General information about Clean Heat is available on its website.

Technical Assistance

NYSERDA offers free one-on-one technical assistance to help local governments with clean energy zoning, permitting, property taxes, procurement, State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), or other questions related to municipal energy use or projects. NYSERDA staff can help:

  • Answer questions about clean energy 

  • Adopt a solar or battery energy storage law 

  • Update a comprehensive plan for clean energy 

  • Develop zoning procedures for solar, wind, and energy storage 

  • Improve and navigate the clean energy permitting process 

  • Adopt a Payment-in-Lieu-of-Tax resolution 

  • Assist towns with leasing underutilized lands for solar energy

Your local Clean Energy Communities (CEC) Coordinator can help you get started. Coordinators serving the Southern Tier are available on the region’s CEC page. Coordinators in other regions can be found on NYSERDA’s website.

Clean Energy Communities

NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program provides resources and funding to help municipalities carry out their clean energy goals. This includes continued coordinator support and guidance for implementing high-impact clean energy actions and building community-wide resiliency and economic opportunity. 

A municipality’s decision to subscribe to clean Community Distributed Generation (CDG), and/or host or own clean distributed energy resources like solar, hydro, and wind, highlights its role as a leader in addressing climate change and protecting the environment.

You can find more information on Southern Tier’s CEC on its website. Contact your local coordinator by visiting the staff page.

Additional Resources