Croton-on-Hudson's municipal diesel fleet has gone entirely renewable: all 18 of the village's diesel vehicles, from garbage trucks to snow plows, now run on renewable diesel, a change that cuts 186 metric tons of CO2 annually at no taxpayer cost. The milestone anchored the Sustainability Committee's Feb. 22 meeting, held virtually and chaired by Lindsay Audin, with Mayor Brian Pugh and Deputy Mayor Len Simon among the eight members attending. The fuel switch — developed by Audin and implemented by Superintendent of Public Works Frank Balbi — trims the village's carbon footprint by 12.5%, making it the village's largest single greenhouse-gas reduction measure to date, according to a village press release posted Jan. 23 and featured in both municipal newsletters. Unlike traditional biodiesel, renewable diesel is made from fats and oils such as soybean and canola, processed to be chemically identical to petroleum diesel — a seamless "drop-in" replacement, paid for from the village's dedicated sustainability fund, which is capitalized by revenue from the community solar array atop the DPW building. January's energy price spikes also hung over the discussion. According to the minutes, the daily wholesale power supply price in the area hit nearly $900/MWh on Jan. 28 — roughly 90 cents per kilowatt-hour — after peaking at about $320/MWh in the same period last year. Local natural gas wholesale supply averaged more than $2.25/therm in January, about double last year's cold-snap price, and briefly exceeded $14/therm on Jan. 27. Con Ed can spread such costs over several billing periods but is not required to, and levelized billing only defers the same total cost across the coming year. Committee members noted that the fixed supply pricing once available through the village's Community Choice Aggregation program would have insulated residents from the spikes.

Solar: one project stalled, one nearly done

The DPW solar canopy remains stuck. Rivertown Solar's bid was accepted by the Village Board, but the project stalled again earlier this month over the contractor's continued inability to provide required paperwork. Once back on track, the next step would be signing the contract for the roughly $300K project — fully paid by a grant — with the goal of completing installation by Labor Day. The train station's solar canopies are further along: third-party commissioning is underway and should be finished by the committee's March meeting, with full operation to follow. Filings also continue with Con Ed for a new transformer and electric service to power 18 EV charge ports at the station, with completion expected during the coming summer. The village's e-bike share, now in winter hibernation, returns in spring with additional stations — and leads the six participating communities in per-capita use.

Battery storage regains momentum

Development of the BESS 2.0 battery storage project at Municipal Place is back on track. On Jan. 27, developer Luminace provided a modified proposal accepting the village's requested change to an easement for accessing the site; earlier confusion about the company was clarified — Luminace has been acquiring other BESS development firms, not just their developed projects, while expanding its own development staff. Simon and Pugh reported on a discussion about relocating the village's salt shed to the county's Croton Point Park salt storage site. That would free the present shed site for the seasonal yard waste now held at Municipal Place — in turn freeing space to maximize the potential megawatts, and rent, of a battery installation there. Simon said such a move isn't likely until later this year, and the current shed site is not near a power line with the capacity a BESS needs; Pugh added that moving the salt storage would also clear up an issue regarding water contamination at the present site. To lock up 5 megawatts of hosting capacity elsewhere while those discussions continue, Audin is outlining a Letter of Intent and will meet with village officials by Zoom before the March meeting to nail down its terms. Simon suggested pursuing a mini-RFP and other mechanisms needed to comply with state regulations on municipal public works projects. The regional picture the committee sketched is a patchwork: a 5 MW project is being developed in Tarrytown by Catalyze, a Luminace competitor, while the Village of Ossining held a Feb. 18 hearing on a possible 8-month moratorium covering residential BESS — even as the Town of Ossining, which has a BESS law and a 5 MW system installed in 2024, sees another large system in development.

Food scraps open to all — and a community loss

The food scrap recycling program is preparing to open to all interested residents. Two new toters — large green collection bins — were delivered to the site Feb. 19, and committee member Cheryl Wong has prepared the announcements, for village newsletters, local media and an eblast to current participants. The committee thanked Balbi and the DPW for handling the purchase and delivery. The meeting opened with sad news: Keiko Niccolini's teenage daughter passed away on Feb. 15 after a long illness. Niccolini, while not a committee member, was instrumental in making the food scrap recycling program a success, the minutes note. David Goldman asked whether the program could count any greenhouse-gas reduction from recycling food scraps. Because food scraps otherwise go to the Charles Point waste-to-energy incineration facility — not to a landfill, where they would instead produce methane — Audin said it's hard to support such a claim. Wong, by email, is also preparing a proposal to expand the textile recycling effort that was successful at last year's Earth Day event, for review in March.

"Balcony solar" headed for the agenda

So-called balcony solar systems are drawing attention both nationally, including a Feb. 11 New York Times piece, and locally, through a proposed New York State law. Unlike portable "solar generators," a balcony system plugs into a wall outlet to inject AC power into a home's breaker panel. Sold online by Craftstrom, Gizmopower and EcoFlow, among others, they are allowed in Germany and now in Utah, pending compliance with electrical standards and building codes; the Utah and New York laws would cap output at 1.2 kW — roughly a 5-by-9-foot array. Dan Colombini raised several electrical and fire code issues that would need resolution before such devices could be acceptable. Audin agreed to draft a list of questions about them, and Corey Cummings, a new Croton resident, agreed to research the devices and deliver a short report at the March meeting. Mayor Pugh also clarified that a proposed $1B state Sustainable Future Program — which would help low- and moderate-income households, but not municipalities, prepare for electrification, with added support for weatherization and energy efficiency — is not yet a matter before the State Legislature and does not appear in the state budget, despite strong support from the environmental community.

A documentary and a flawed crediting system

Croton's sustainability efforts are heading for the screen. Archipelago Films, an award-winning production firm based in Pleasantville, finished a first draft this month of "The Little Town That Could," a 15-20 minute documentary spearheaded by Croton100. Simon has the starring role, pointing out local sustainability efforts while riding his e-bike, and Audin was interviewed for voiceovers. Bankrolled by state and county grants, the film is expected to screen during April's Climate Week in New York City and at the County Center on May 9. The next CAC Repair Café is set for Saturday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m. at the Croton library, where Goldman agreed to take a few pictures for future use. The committee's own experience with the Grid Rewards demand-response program was less inspiring. Jon Katz described minimizing his electric usage when asked, only to receive $0 — because of his solar panels — while doing nothing to limit demand last summer earned $50 in credits. Goldman got about $33 despite dropping out of the program last year. Katz felt the crediting system was quite flawed and expressed disappointment with the program. The committee's next meeting is set for Sunday, March 22 at 10 a.m. On the horizon: Cummings' balcony solar report, Wong's textile recycling proposal and, if Rivertown Solar's paperwork finally arrives, a signed contract for the DPW solar canopy. Residents can watch village newsletters for the announcement opening food scrap recycling to all.