NEW ROCHELLE, NY –The City of New Rochelle has been awarded a $100,000 grant to pursue the creation of a microgrid for energy sustainability though the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) NY Prize initiative. New Rochelle was the first community in Westchester to submit an application for the program, continuing the City’s leadership role in sustainable action and building on the principles established in New Rochelle’s Sustainability Plan, GreeNR.
“We are excited about this initiative,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “A local microgrid would help us to improve the reliability and resilience of electric service to critical facilities, while also giving a boost to economic development goals.”
New Rochelle will study the feasibility of installing a community microgrid—a standalone energy system that can operate independently of the main grid in the event of a power outage. Such systems would integrate renewable power with other advanced energy technologies to create a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient localized energy grid for participants. Microgrids can also benefit utilities on days of high power demand by reducing energy drawn from the main grid and providing additional power when needed. Finally, this microgrid pilot can serve as a model to scale and replicate to other parts of New Rochelle.
To accomplish the engineering assessment, the City has retained Booz Allen Hamilton, a century-old technology and consulting firm with experience in commercial and military microgrids, New Rochelle has also worked with Sustainable Westchester, which is encouraging microgrid development on a regional basis. Once the study is completed, New Rochelle can compete for further support from NY Prize or pursue the distributed energy resource opportunities uncovered in their feasibility study.
The NY Prize awards were granted in support of a new generation of community-based power under Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy. “New Yorkers have first-hand experience regarding the need for resilient and efficient power systems that can withstand whatever Mother Nature has in store for us,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo . “This funding will help communities across New York invest in these new systems, which will ensure critically important institutions such as police and fire stations, hospitals and schools can continue operating during and in the aftermath of an extreme weather event.”