BINGHAMTON — The city of Binghamton has received $100,000 in grants to continue for a third year a program that retrofits homes and places of business to make them more energy efficient. The Energy Leadership Program secured a $50,000 grant from the Binghamton–based Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation. It also received a $50,000 […]
BINGHAMTON — The city of Binghamton has received $100,000 in grants to continue for a third year a program that retrofits homes and places of business to make them more energy efficient.
The Energy Leadership Program secured a $50,000 grant from the Binghamton–based Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation. It also received a $50,000 national grant from the Local Sustainability Matching Fund — a project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, according to a news release from the Binghamton mayor’s office.
Binghamton’s various sustainable-energy initiatives have obtained nearly $500,000 in total federal and state grants in the past three years, Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan said in the release.
The city teamed up with the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation to apply for funding from the Local Sustainability Matching Fund last summer. Binghamton’s Energy Leadership Program is one of just six in the U.S. that received this national grant award this month, according to the Funders’ Network website.
“Sustainability is not just about protecting the environment, but about improving peoples’ quality of life, which is the mission of our foundation. The Energy Leadership Program does this by helping residents make their homes more comfortable while cutting their utility costs,” Catherine Schwoeffermann, the Hoyt Foundation’s executive director, said in the release.
The Energy Leadership Program, initiated by Binghamton in April 2011, promotes installation of energy-efficient design features and equipment in residential homes, and in small-business and nonprofit establishments.
The Energy Leadership Program recruits, trains, and deploys teams of college students to educate local leaders about the benefits of home-energy improvements, inform them about available state programs and financial incentives — like Green Jobs-Green NY — and connect them with local contractors, according to the city. Partners include Binghamton University, Broome Community College, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, and the Public Policy Education Fund.
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