10 Hudson Valley Communities Designated ECO-Action Champions for their Clean Energy Leadership

HUDSON VALLEY, NY (May 15, 2023) – CCAANY (the Community Choice Aggregation Administrators of New York) is pleased to announce that City of Poughkeepsie; Towns of Gardiner, Marbletown, New Paltz, Philipstown, and Saugerties; and Villages of Cold Spring, Nelsonville, New Paltz, and Saugerties are being awarded the ECO-Action Champion Award for their clean energy leadership. These municipalities have come together to create a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program with renewable electricity, which is recognized by NY State as one of the most powerful climate actions a municipality can take. The award recognizes communities and organizations that are actively accelerating the clean energy transition through actions such as CCA. Together, the communities proved the power of local climate action by implementing the community-based renewable electricity CCA program Hudson Valley Community Power (HVCP). The program has so far enabled 23,000 households to switch to renewable energy. The awards are being presented at two joint press events in the Town of New Paltz on May 18, and the City of Poughkeepsie on May 23.

CCA allows municipalities – rather than the state – to choose where their communities get their electricity. By choosing renewable electricity sources through HVCP, the participating communities were able to help avoid 70,210 MT CO2e, equivalent to consuming more than 7.9 million gallons of gasoline. At the same time, the program saved program participants more than $6.8 million in electricity supply costs in 2022 by providing a fixed rate that was lower than Central Hudson’s variable electricity supply rate. This meant residents helped reduce their communities’ carbon footprint, while also reducing their own electricity costs.

Press events:
The ECO-Action Champion awards are being presented by CCAANY board member and HVCP program administrator Joule Community Power at two joint press events. The press is invited to attend.

Communities represented: Town of New Paltz, Town of Gardiner, Town of Marbletown, Town of Saugerties, Village of Saugerties

Communities represented: City of Poughkeepsie, Village of New Paltz, Village of Nelsonville

Awardees not able to attend either event (Town of Philipstown and Village of Cold Spring) will receive their awards during municipal board meetings.

New Paltz Supervisor Neil Bettez comments, "Every municipality should be doing this, by implementing the community-based renewable electricity CCA program Hudson Valley Community Power (HVCP) we were able to save our residents money while also doing our part to help save the planet."

City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Marc Nelson said, “We are proud of this recognition that the City of Poughkeepsie is effectively participating in an innovative program that is helping to protect our environment. We think it's a positive development that people can access energy from renewable sources, and we congratulate the other communities in our region that are also receiving this distinction."

CCAANY Board Member Jessica Stromback comments on the leadership shown by the awarded communities and how achieving NY State’s goal to reach 70% renewable energy by 2030 only is made possible through local leadership. “I am so honored to celebrate with this group of leaders who have shown how we can create meaningful change here in NY State in a way that benefits and protects residents and enables us to fight climate change together. Community-based CCA programs represent a significant portion of purchasers of renewable energy in NY State, and as NY is a leader in the country when it comes to renewable energy, this achievement is truly impressive.”

The Hudson Valley Community Power program is set to relaunch in July of this year in twelve communities, with renewable electricity options available. Available to more than 35,000 households and small businesses in the participating communities, the program will supply customers with roughly 350,000 MWh worth of renewable electricity, lowering the communities’ carbon footprint and increasing demand for and directly supporting clean energy resources in New York State. Eligible residents and small businesses will be automatically enrolled in the program but can opt out at any time without penalty. 


---

ABOUT ECO-ACTION
ECO-Action is a standard that recognizes communities and organizations that are accelerating the clean energy transition. By taking actions that meet the Energy, Climate and Outcome (ECO) standard, City of Poughkeepsie; Towns of Gardiner, Marbletown, New Paltz, Philipstown, and Saugerties; and Villages of Cold Spring, Nelsonville, New Paltz, and Saugerties were designated ECO-Action Champions. ECO-Action is a CCAANY initiative.

ABOUT CCAANY
CCAANY (the Community Choice Aggregation Administrators of New York) is a group of organizations that are actively engaged in the implementation and development of CCA programs in New York State. The organization is dedicated to helping municipalities across the State achieve their climate and climate justice objectives in support of NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). 

ABOUT HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY POWER
Hudson Valley Community Power is a community choice aggregation program— comprising communities in NY’s Hudson Valley—that enables participants to save money on electricity by pooling demand to leverage the collective buying power of residents and small businesses in effort to secure more favorable terms on their electricity supply, protect consumers, and support renewable generation sources. All participating communities are expected to relaunch the program in July 2023 with 100% or 50% renewable electricity as their default offering.