Croton scrambles to secure 5 MW battery incentives

Key Actions & Decisions

• ◆ **Resolutions Passed**: None (no formal resolutions were voted on during this meeting).
• ◆ **Resolutions Failed**: None.
• ◆ **Applications Reviewed**: None.
• ◆ **Public Comments**: None (no guests or public attendees).
• ◆ **Reports**:
• ◆ **EV Charging Station**: Contractor PISO has applied for new electric service requiring a 100-300 kVA pole-mounted transformer. Excavation for 18 charge ports is slated for early March, with capacity for future faster chargers.
• ◆ **Renewable Diesel (RD)**: Village Trustee Len Simon reported the 3-month pilot was successful. RD will now fuel all 18 municipal diesel vehicles, cutting the Village's carbon footprint by ~12.5%. DPW Supt. Frank Balbi was "upbeat" on results. A Village press release is expected this month.
• ◆ **Train Station Solar Canopies**: Third-party commissioning starts 2/16/26 with power startup by early/mid-March. A New Year's Day breaker trip that caused canopy lights to fail was resolved. The PV and BESS project sale to Altus Power is in progress with no impact on existing rent/leases.
• ◆ **DPW Solar Canopy**: Two new bids were received by the 12/8/25 deadline. Rivertowns' bid is preferred, but additional paperwork is required before awarding.
• ◆ **State Energy Policy**: The committee discussed NY State's new energy plan postponing 2040 fossil-fuel power goals and Gov. Hochul's goal of 5 GW of new nuclear capacity.
• ◆ **Food Scrap Recycling**: Expansion materials (two extra toters) ordered by Frank Balbi are expected next week. Cheryl Wong drafted announcements for email, newsletters, and Facebook.
• ◆ **BESS 2.0**: Luminace dropped its half-sized Municipal Place BESS proposal to focus on acquiring existing projects. The committee discussed issuing a new RFP. To maximize BESS size to the originally proposed 5 MW, the salt shed may be relocated to temporarily hold seasonal yard waste. Len agreed to accelerate discussions with Village officials, as commercial BESS incentives dropped from $175/kWh to $125/kWh and are first-come, first-served.
• ◆ **Clean Energy Community (CEC) Grants**: The NYSERDA program that previously awarded Croton >$700,000 in grants will be restored and funded via RGGI over a 4-year transition merging with the Climate Smart Community program.
• ◆ **Sustainable Westchester**: Announced a 2026 "Opt-In Clean Energy" program to replace the defunct opt-out Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program.
• ◆ **E-Bike Sharing (Project MOVER)**: Phase 1 (July-Dec 2025) saw 1,374 trips across Croton hubs. The program restarts in April with two new hubs at Senasqua Park and near the Riverside Ave. overpass. $1,000 e-bike vouchers are available for families earning <$140K/yr.
• ◆ **HVAC Refrigerants**: Jon Katz reported a NY DEC regulatory change giving a variance until 1/1/27 for new residential/small commercial HVAC systems due to equipment rollout delays.
• ◆ **Repair Café**: The CAC's next Repair Café is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 AM at the Croton Library.
• ◆ **2025 Annual Report**: Lindsay Audin submitted the committee's annual summary to Bryan Healy, including budget requests for $6,000 for food scrap expansion and a grant-funded municipal solar contract for the DPW canopy.