Energy Initiatives Working Group

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

As the largest municipal entity on an island of multiple government layers, Suffolk County leads by example in its efforts to increase the use of clean energy and decrease the regional carbon footprint. Suffolk created a multi-departmental Energy Initiatives Working Group which includes county stake holders who focus on policy, engineering, budgeting, legislature and procurement, to ensure progress is made on meeting clean energy and carbon reduction goals. Meeting quarterly, the group plans for and implements energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and tracks results to ensure compliance with its mission statement. The Suffolk County government has 26 departments, with overlaps and gaps in roles for achieving clean energy goals. The purpose of the program is to clarify roles, foster cooperation and fill in the gaps resulting in expedited activities and more completed projects. The group’s work has resulted in total annual energy and carbon reductions that translate to recurring annual savings of $4.8 Million. As the County has approximately 400 buildings and over 5 Million square feet of conditioned space, the focus has been on the 20 largest energy users, which represent about 75% of the County’s energy use. Efforts to date have brought energy use reductions in those buildings of between 30% and 60%.