The race is on to keep Croton's second battery storage project alive before state incentives erode any further. At its Jan. 18 meeting, held by Zoom, the Sustainability Committee learned that Luminace — the developer behind a half-sized battery energy storage system (BESS) proposed for the Municipal Place facility — has shifted course and now prefers acquiring existing storage projects to building new ones, according to the minutes. The news came six weeks after the committee reviewed the scaled-down proposal at its Dec. 7 meeting. The committee's answer: issue a request for proposals to other BESS developers based on the existing design, a move now under discussion. The minutes thank committee member Carly Shanks for her help building a bidder list. Speed matters. Last March, the commercial BESS incentive dropped from $175 per stored kWh to $125 — and a lower incentive means lower lease rent for the village. The incentive's funding is limited and distributed first-come, first-served, the minutes note. To restore the project to its originally proposed 5 MW size, the committee is also eyeing the village salt shed. Relocating it — so the space could temporarily hold the seasonal yard waste now stored at Municipal Place — would open more room at the facility for batteries. The shed's current site itself can't host a BESS because it is not near a power line with hosting capacity. Deputy Mayor Len Simon agreed to accelerate the relocation discussion with village officials before the committee's next meeting. Chair Lindsay Audin offered a glimpse of the regional field after attending two battery-storage events the previous week hosted by New Yorkers for Clean Power. The main presenter was Jeff Seidman, a Vassar College associate professor of environmental studies. The main takeaway: many communities have little experience with their storage options; more than 1 GW of projects, ranging from 42 to 420 MW each, have already been proposed in the downstate region. There was money news as well: a recent state Public Service Commission proceeding indicated that the Clean Energy Community program that brought Croton more than $700K in NYSERDA grants — suspended in November 2024 — will be restored this year, funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative during a four-year transition as it merges with the state's Climate Smart Community program. Details on how and when are awaited.

Renewable diesel graduates to the fleet

The committee's renewable diesel pilot, meanwhile, crossed the finish line. Simon reported that the three-month renewable diesel test wrapped up successfully this month, and the fuel will now power all 18 of the village's diesel vehicles — cutting the municipal carbon footprint by roughly 12.5%. Simon said Public Works Superintendent Frank Balbi was "upbeat" about the results, and that officials at a recent meeting of municipal officials in the county were eager to learn more about Croton's experience. A village press release on the switch is expected later this month.

Chargers and canopies converge on March

At the train station, the 18-port EV charging project is inching toward construction. Contractor PISO has applied for the system's new electric service, and a pole-mounted transformer of 100 to 300 kVA will be needed to handle the charge ports, with enough capacity for faster chargers in the future. Weather permitting, excavation is slated to start in early March. The station's solar canopies are close behind: third-party commissioning begins Feb. 16, with power startup expected by early or mid-March. The canopies hit a hiccup on New Year's Day evening, when the lights below them all failed on a breaker trip whose cause remains unknown; the breaker was reset by the next afternoon and the lights appear to be working properly. The pending sale of the canopy project — solar panels and battery storage alike — to Altus Power will have no effect on the village's rent or leasing contract, the minutes state. The smaller canopy over the DPW lot took a step forward too: two new bids arrived by the Dec. 8 deadline, with Rivertowns' offer preferred — though more paperwork is needed from the firm before the roughly 60 kW project can be awarded.

E-bikes return in April

Croton's shared e-bikes will be back. Summarizing a memo attached to the minutes, Simon reported that the first phase of Project MOVER, from July 9 to Dec. 19, logged 1,374 rides on Croton hubs — 1,281 of them entirely within the village — with the Metro-North station hub leading at 505 rides. The program restarts in early April with two new hubs, at Senasqua Park and near the Riverside Avenue pedestrian overpass. E-bike vouchers of $1,000 each toward a purchase are now available to families earning under $140K a year. The food scrap recycling program is also set to expand: two extra toters and other materials Balbi ordered last month were expected in the week after the meeting, and committee member Cheryl Wong has drafted announcements to be emailed to participants and to appear in the village's two newsletters and on its Facebook page.

A shifting state backdrop

The meeting surveyed a changing state energy landscape. A new state energy plan announced Dec. 16 postpones, beyond 2040, the 2019 CLCPA climate law's goals of ending fossil-fueled power by 2040 and cutting greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 relative to 1990, calling instead for more renewables, 1 GW of new nuclear capacity and additional zero-emission sources. On Jan. 13, Gov. Hochul raised the nuclear target to 5 GW — all upstate, with no timeline. New York currently has 3.3 GW of nuclear capacity. Member Jon Katz briefed the committee on a state DEC rule that took effect Jan. 1 restricting the acceptable types of refrigerant in new HVAC systems, including heat-pump water heaters. Installers got a partial reprieve: new residential and small commercial systems of up to 50 lbs of refrigerant received a variance until Jan. 1, 2027, because equipment using the newly acceptable refrigerants, such as R32 and R454B, has been slow to arrive. For heat-pump water heaters, the variance covers only four manufacturers. Katz noted that CO2-based water heaters are under development but not yet an option, and owners of existing A/C systems face their own rule: 75% of their replaced refrigerant must come from reclaimed sources. Sustainable Westchester, meanwhile, announced in December that it will unveil an "Opt-In Clean Energy" program this year to replace the now-defunct opt-out Community Choice Aggregation — a voluntary group purchase of renewable power from an energy service company that requires no PSC approval or oversight. Audin sent the committee's one-page 2025 annual report to Village Manager Bryan Healy on Dec. 6. Its goals for the coming year include the 18 new station charge ports, the DPW canopy award, expanded renewable diesel use, a larger food scrap program backed by a $6K budget request, the Municipal Place battery system, and replacing six old Harmon firehouse rooftop air-conditioning units with heat pumps. The committee meets again Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. By then, residents can watch for the renewable diesel press release, word on the battery storage request for proposals — and, if the weather cooperates, shovels at the train station.