In recent years, Westchester County has taken critical steps to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy infrastructure that will lower costs for residents and protect our planet from the disastrous effects of climate change.
The majority of the energy used by the County for daily operations is derived from renewable sources, particularly hydroelectricity.
In order to help achieve the ambitious goal of zero net emissions, Westchester County has launched a comprehensive solar campaign composed of two phases, supporting many other residential and local campaigns.
Solar:
- Phase 1 – 8MW - Rooftop solar on large buildings. Construction expected for Summer 2021
- Yonkers Bus Depot
- Valhalla Bus
- Westchester County Court House
- Parks Administration Building
- County Archives Building
- Phase 2 – 25-30MW – Parks parking lots, County buildings that didn’t make it into Phase 1, and including 35 municipal and school district sites.
- Community Solar – support and advocate for various solarize campaigns presented by New York State and Sustainable Westchester. Community Solar allows almost all utility customers, homeowners, renters, religious institutions, some businesses and nonprofits, to easily benefit from solar. Residents can register for solar power, and municipalities can get in on the action too.
Energy Conservation:
- $60MM worth of energy efficiency capital projects that had languished for years have been recently taken up by the Departments of Environmental Facilities, Public Works-Transportation, Planning, and Parks, Recreation, and Conservancy. LED indoor lighting, boiler and steam pipe replacements, and energy efficient window replacement are a few of the projects.
- Demand Response Programs – Since 2019 the County has signed onto three demand response programs in which the County receives payments for being on stand-by to lower our energy usage when the power grid is stressed and at risk of failure. Power grid operators are constantly looking for new ways to ensure the stability of the power grid and shave off peak power spikes. Smart Grid programs like this allow end users to meet electrical demand, thus avoiding new power plant construction. Depending on the type of program, clients may be dispatched simply once or twice a year for a few hours. There are opportunities for municipalities, businesses, learning institutions, and even residents through a Grid Rewards program.
Effective food waste management can reduce carbon emissions, combat food insecurity, and save taxpayer money for local municipalities. County Executive George Latimer has made food waste management a priority for his administration, launching several innovative programs to help reduce what ends up in the waste-to-energy facility.
Food Recovery
Through the nonprofit Feeding Westchester, the County sponsors a food recovery program that annually saves millions of pounds of food to be redistributed to economically disadvantaged residents. In 2019, the program saved 10.2 million pounds for consumption across the County.
Composting at Home
Family composting is an integral part of Westchester County’s plan to reduce food waste and promote sustainable living. Over the last three years, Westchester has provided compost bins and rain barrels at a discounted cost to residents in partnership with the Greenburgh Nature Center.
Municipal Transportation and Disposal
Currently, 22 municipalities in Westchester County have a volunteer food scrap drop-off or curb-side collection program, many of which utilize the Department of Environmental Facilities Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal (RFSTAD) Program which greatly lowers the cost for municipalities to maintain food scrap collection.
CompostED
CompostED will be a small-scale food scrap composting demonstration and education site in Valhalla NY. The site will open in April 2021 and provide educational opportunities for County residents, students, and municipal officials on the environmental benefits of composting, the process of composting, and explore the ability of local municipalities to incorporate food scraps into existing organic yard waste composting sites.
For the first time in 11 years, Westchester County is assembling a comprehensive climate action plan to address the threat climate change poses to our communities and create a roadmap for sustainable, environmentally conscious solutions. Multiple programs, actions, and initiatives have already been completed while the plan is being written.
With a $100K grant from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Westchester County Climate Action Planning Institute (Westchester CAPI) will complete individualized local government operations Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GHGI) and Climate Action Plans (CAP) for each of the nine participating local governments: Westchester County; Villages of Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Ossining, Pelham, Tarrytown; Town of Ossining; and Cities of Peekskill and White Plains. As lead applicant and project participant, Westchester County’s project team will include County staff and appointed members of its Climate Smart Communities Task Force. Each partner municipality will contribute a similar team. Upon Westchester CAPI’s completion, the County and partner municipalities will present their GHGIs and CAPs at a final working group meeting and to their respective environmental committees and elected officials. The Hudson Valley Regional Council as primary project partner, in conjunction with ICLEI staff, will guide participants in the development of their GHGIs and CAPs.
Westchester CAPI Goals
- Inform and educate Westchester CAPI participants on the purpose and benefits of GHGIs and CAPs
- Ensure that long-term capacity is developed at the staff and appointed volunteer level through a collaborative group learning structure
- Build long-term partnerships across municipalities and their staff/appointed volunteers
- Complete locally specific GHGIs and CAPs for each participating local government
- Facilitate implementation of near- and long-term high-impact GHG emissions reductions measures
Desired Outcomes
- Complete nine individual local government operations GHG Emissions Inventories and Climate Action Plans incorporating GHG emissions reductions plans.
- Develop successful climate change mitigation strategies.
Climate Action Plan: Inventory of Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In October, 2023, Westchester County completed the first major phase of the county government climate action plan, an Inventory of Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This inventory is a comprehensive evaluation of the estimated greenhouse gas emissions produced by the operations of Westchester County Government. Read the Greenhouse Gas Inventory to learn more.
Westchester County is committed to maintaining a network of infrastructure that serves our community’s transportation needs while fulfilling our promise to conserve the environment for future generations.
Reducing carbon emissions associated with vehicle usage is key to curbing the effects of the global climate crisis. Studies show that transportation alone makes up 40 percent of the County’s total greenhouse gas emissions: the largest percentage of any sector. By utilizing more efficient vehicles, promoting our top rate public transit options, and building infrastructure for the 21st century, Westchester County is taking major steps to build a green transportation system that will protect the planet and get residents where they need to go.
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
Electric vehicles are the future of transportation and Westchester County is getting a head-start on building the public infrastructure to accommodate their widespread use. The County has deployed a number of publically available charging hubs as well as charging for the assortment of County fleet vehicles.
Additionally, the County passed legislation in January of 2020 to insure that charging stations are made available in all of its parking garages and open parking lots, whenever there is construction work being done.
Sustainable Fleet
Westchester County employs a sizable fleet of buses, compact sedans, public safety vehicles, and other utility vehicles. In order to curb emissions and reduce fuel costs, Westchester has converted large portions of its fleet to electric and hybrid vehicles. Nearly half of the County’s Bee-Line buses are now electric-hybrid vehicles and in June of 2020, Westchester purchased six 40-foot full electric buses that will be deployed later this year. The County currently has Prius Prime plug-in hybrid and Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and Chevy Bolt full electric vehicles in addition to hundreds of hybrid cars and SUVs.
This Climate Smart Communities story map gives an in-depth look at the data shaping the climate crisis in Westchester County. It includes town-by-town, greenhouse gas emissions, and introduces residents to the Climate Smart Communities Task Force, a County board working to make Westchester a more sustainable and resilient place to live.