2 Hudson Valley Colleges Receive State Funds For Energy Savings

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — More than $5 million will be awarded to four colleges and universities in New York through the Energy to Lead Competition to help achieve energy savings and combat climate change.

Two of the colleges are in the Hudson Valley: Vassar College in Poughkeepsie and New York Medical College in Valhalla.

In making the announcement Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said colleges and universities are at the heart of inspiring the next generation of climate leaders to create and implement sustainable clean energy solutions that fight climate change.

"The Energy to Lead competition has created an opportunity to empower students, professors and leadership to help New York deliver low-carbon solutions for one of our toughest areas to decarbonize — buildings — while fostering a great sense of campus pride around the ability to create a greener and cleaner future on campuses and in surrounding communities," he said.

New York Medical College will receive $1.3 million to design and implement a campus-wide, direct digital control building management system that will combine existing systems with new, advanced controls to create a single system for campus HVAC, chiller and boiler pumps and lighting controls.

Vassar College will receive $1.1 million to construct a new, net zero-emission building for the college's Institute for the Liberal Arts along with a dashboard that reports construction and installation progress.

The City College of New York and Syracuse University will receive $1.4 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

Dr. Edward Halperin, chancellor and CEO of New York Medical College, said the project will serve as an important learning opportunity for the student body to learn how institutions can make measurable impacts on climate action through responsible operations.

"This project will serve as a tangible example of the high standard for environmental stewardship to which NYMC aspires," he said.

Vassar College President Elizabeth Bradley said the college was honored to be selected as a winner of the competition.

"From the project's inception, our mission for the Institute for the Liberal Arts has been to create a space that fosters path-breaking collaborations between Vassar, our region and the globe," she said.

The Energy to Lead Competition is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and supports colleges and universities that strive to meet their financial, environmental, academic and community goals through clean energy solutions.

Over three rounds, the competition received 82 submissions from 56 private and public colleges. It has awarded 10 colleges and universities more than $11 million since 2016.