CANTON -- Earlier this year the Village of Canton was designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), recognizing its leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs, and driving clean energy locally.

This month the village is moving forward with replacing blowers at the wastewater treatment plant, thanks to a $100,000 Clean Energy Communities grant, the village announced in a press release.

Announced by Governor Cuomo in August 2016, the $16 million Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the state by providing grants to eligible municipalities to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable development projects in their communities.

Canton received the designation for completing four of 10 high-impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative:

• Canton’s Town and Village Sustainability Committee launched a highly successful Solarize campaign, resulting in close to 40 residential installations of solar panels.

• The Village and Town Boards passed resolutions to become a Climate Smart Community; progress is being made toward certification.

• The Village adopted New York State’s Unified Solar Permit, streamlining local approval processes for solar projects.

• Code enforcement and other municipal officers completed training on best practices in energy code enforcement.

Work continues on several other high-impact actions, including converting streetlights to energy-efficient LED technology and benchmarking energy use in municipal buildings.

“The work of Canton’s Sustainability Committee has helped us understand our municipal energy uses and ways we can make more financially and environmentally sound choices,” said Mayor Michael Dalton.

The Clean Energy Community designation made Canton eligible to apply for funding, with no local cost share, to support additional clean energy projects. In March, Canton received word that they had been awarded $100,000 to install new energy-efficient blowers for wastewater treatment.

“This funding came at a most opportune time,” said Mayor Dalton. “The blower upgrade at the wastewater treatment facility is desperately needed … the existing equipment is failing and in need of frequent repair.”

Village Superintendent Brien Hallahan explains that the three existing blowers are an integral part of the waste treatment process and are at the end of their useful life. “This upgrade replaces three inefficient blowers with two highly efficient blowers. The savings will be substantial… The [Clean Energy Community] grant covers installation of one new blower, but because two replacements can be completed under one contract, additional savings will be realized.”

For more information on Clean Energy Communities, visit www.nyserda.ny.gov/cec. Local government officials or employees can find contact information for their respective coordinator here for assistance navigating the program.