Islip Town is Going Green

With many clean "green" energy initiatives, the Town of Islip continues to be a leader in energy conservation and boasts town-wide programs and proposals which are unlike other municipalities.
Last year the town board unveiled the town's first-ever Clean Energy Action Plan, which outlined clean energy goals for 2008, which included an energy first for Long Island: induction lighting, the newest green technology in street lighting.

Councilman Edwards, who is Chairman of the internal town energy committee, noted that starting on Feb. 1, all new residential construction in the town must meet Energy Star standard.

The town is the first municipality on Long Island to incorporate wind turbine legislation into residential and commercial building codes. This is designed to encourage people to think about using this technology, Edwards noted.

Supervisor Phil Nolan is proud of the town's energy-related achievements, "the Islip Town Clean Energy Committee has been moving rapidly to pursue all elements of our Clean Energy Action Plan," he said, and emphasized the importance of the town's groundbreaking wind turbine initiative, "It will keep Islip ahead of the curve on alternative energy," he said.

Department of Public Works Commissioner, Steve Lapham, noted that the town's program to replace older lighting fixtures with new induction light fixtures has been very successful. "We are replacing 175 watt fixtures with 40 watt fixtures, resulting in a significant reduction in energy consumption in addition to substantial cost savings for each fixture," he said, "We look forward to continuing the program to help keep Islip a leader in energy-efficiency."

Also a first for a Long Island municipality is the creation of e-waste pick-up. Such items would include computers, as they cannot be thrown into the normal trash stream. A simple cost and energy savings measure Islip Town acts on is having employees put computers on standby during periods of non-use, as it will reduce the town's annual electric bill.

A full conversion of the town's golf cart fleet from gas to electric is expected for 2010, with some carts scheduled to be converted by the end of this season, noted Edwards. Outside vendors are required to drive hybrid vehicles when doing work for the town, as part of the town contract.

Part of the environmental department vehicle fleet will be converted to compressed natural gas (CNG). The town has purchased one CNG truck and one diesel truck to compare the two to see what the CNG truck can provide in terms of use and maintenance so they are not incurring additional costs, Edwards noted.

Developing a streamlined process with regard to the planning for and installation of residential solar panels was important for the town. A reduced fee for permits, along with the elimination of some of the need for engineer stamps on preliminary drawings makes the process "quicker and cheaper," Edwards noted, and added this economical break helps the town promote solar energy.

Islip Town has a contract with New York Power Authority (NYPA) who has completed preliminary audits of most of the town buildings. As of now, NYPA is conducting more thorough audits of the buildings the town selected. "They gave us general ideas for improving energy and we narrowed it down to the buildings which need the most work," Edwards said.

Such improvements on town buildings would include repairing/replacing the heating/cooling systems, windows and insulation, so as to save money by increasing energy efficiency.

Likely Page BreakIf the town chooses to go forward with NYPA recommended improvements for the selected buildings, NYPA will assist the town in obtaining government financing through NYPA at lower rates, "We hope to see a significant savings from these improvements to offset costs," Edwards said.

Although the town has managed to save a significant amount of money through these endeavors, Edwards noted he cannot quantify the amount at this point. "We're moving in the right direction and will continue to save money," Edwards said, "Energy efficiency is an investment and we're always looking to define ways to make financially and environmentally sound improvements."