Oswego County government will save more than $57,000 annually by updating the lights and lighting systems in two Oswego office buildings. The project, which involves installing new energy-efficient bulbs, ballasts and sensors, is partially funded through a federal stimulus grant distributed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

It is but one of the many projects being developed by the county Green Team, said Chairman of the Legislature Fred Beardsley, and will avoid an estimated 627,506 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

The lighting control project has been completed in the Legislative Office Building at 46 E. Bridge St., and electricians are now installing new interior and exterior lighting at the Health Department Office Complex at 70 Bunner St., Oswego.

“For this particular project the county will provide just 25 percent of the total cost, or about $58,187. These local dollars will leverage approximately $174,563 from NYSERDA for the balance of the project,” said Legislator Fred Beardsley, chairman of the Economic Development and Planning Committee. The committee oversees the Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning and approved the grant projects.

David Turner, director of the county Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning, is coordinating the grant applications for the county.

“The scope of work includes new energy efficient bulbs, ballasts and occupancy sensors for several rooms, and new fixtures in places where outdated or inefficient fixtures existed,” said Turner. “This project follows five others where we addressed similar efficiency measures at the Oswego and Pulaski courthouses, the county Buildings and Grounds facility, the Scriba Highway Garage and Camp Hollis. We have several more projects underway, including an energy management study, energy conservation grants for the Bunner Street and Bridge Street office buildings, and the installation of solar panels on the roof of the Bunner Street facility.”

Turner said about 10,000 square feet of solar panels will be installed on the roof of the Bunner Street building later this year, with the capability of generating 19.3 kW hours of electricity for use at the office building.

“This is only a small portion of the daily electric use there, so it may be worth considering a wind turbine at the site if we can find a spot that meets the appropriate setback requirements,” he added.

The Oswego County Green Team includes representatives of the County Legislature and the environmental management, highway, solid waste, purchasing, buildings and grounds, and community development, tourism and planning departments. The group works with several community partners, including Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, Environmental Finance Center at Syracuse University, SUNY Oswego, Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

“The Green Team has proven very successful and their actions have already produced energy savings, monetary savings, and environmental benefits for Oswego County,” said Legislature Chairman Leemann.

Other members of the Legislature’s Economic Development and Planning Committee are vice chairman Morris Sorbello, District 23; and Shawn Doyle, District 3; Mary Flett, District 17; Louella LeClair, District 25; Jacob Mulcahey, District 15; and Arthur Ospelt, District 12. For more information, contact Legislature Chairman Leemann at 349-8230 or David Turner at the Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning, phone 349-8322.

County Health Department Office Complex at 70 Bunner St., Oswego (NY)

County Office Building at 46 E. Bridge St., Oswego (NY)

Doug Czirr of Oswego, a journeyman electrician working for Patricia Electric, installs a new lighting fixture on the third floor of the County Office Building at 46 E. Bridge St., Oswego

Oswego County passed a resolution in 2009 to embrace smart and sustainable energy policies and practices with the goal of becoming a Climate Smart Community.

Resolution number 146, introduced by County Legislator Morris Sorbello, was passed unanimously by all 24 Legislators present at the August 13, 2009 session.

The Climate Smart Communities program is a partnership of state and local governments whose goal is to combat climate change. The program emphasizes local actions that will save taxpayer dollars and support other community goals while protecting the climate.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, becoming a Climate Smart Community establishes a locality and its leaders as forward-thinking and innovative. Climate Smart Communities position themselves as good investments for the future, especially for renewable energy, energy efficiency, weatherization and other "green" businesses and jobs. Read What Climate Smart Communities Are Doing

The County is in process of securing a grant to retrofit the lights at the Legislative Office Building (LOB), located at 46 East Bridge Street in Oswego, with energy efficient replacements. A majority of funding for this project will be provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), under the New York State Energy Plan solicitation (NYSERDA RFP1613).

The LOB is a 33,409 SF facility originally constructed in 1895 with an addition added in 1987. Lights at the Legislative Building are mostly florescent fixtures with older generation T12 Lamps and Magnetic Ballasts, incandescent fixtures and incandescent EXIT signs. Most florescent fixtures are comprised of prismatic or parabolic recessed troffers, surface mount fixtures with 4x4 T12 34-watt linear lamps, 2x2 T12 34-watt U6 lamps, and 1x4 T12 34-watt linear lamps. The incandescent fixtures have a mix of 60-watt, 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs.

The retrofit involves converting the existing T12 lamp with magnetic ballasts to ENERGY STAR rated T8 with high efficiency electronic ballasts. Some fixtures will also be either de-lamped or retrofitted with lower wattage lamps and reflector kits. Occupancy sensors will be installed in selected offices and intermittently occupied space such as meeting rooms, bathrooms and storage rooms. LED EXIT signs will replace incandescent EXIT signs. Screw-in compact fluorescent lamps will replace incandescent bulbs.

643 light fixtures are expected to be retrofitted under this project. When completed, the project expects to lower electricity consumption by 123,174 KWH per year, which is the equivalent of 102,505 LBs (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year. Oswego County also expects to save almost $17,491 in the building's annual utility costs.

The County is in process of securing a grant to retrofit the lights at the Bunner Street Health Complex with energy efficient replacements. A majority of funding for this project will be provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), under the New York State Energy Plan solicitation (NYSERDA RFP1613).

The Health Complex Building is a 26,399 SF facility originally constructed in 1967 with an addition added in 1983. Existing lights at the Health Complex Building are mostly florescent fixtures with older generation T12 Lamps and Magnetic Ballasts, incandescent fixtures and incandescent EXIT signs. Most florescent fixtures are comprised of prismatic or parabolic recessed troffers and surface mount fixtures. Incandescent fixtures have a mix of 60-watt, 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs.

The retrofit involves converting the existing T12 lamp with magnetic ballasts to ENERGY STAR rated T8 with high efficiency electronic ballasts. Some fixtures will also be either de-lamped or retrofitted with lower wattage lamps and with reflector kits. Occupancy sensors will be installed in selected offices and intermittently occupied space such as meeting rooms, bathrooms and storage rooms. LED EXIT signs will replace incandescent EXIT signs. Screw-in compact fluorescent lamps will replace incandescent bulbs.

1,000 light fixtures are expected to be retrofitted under this project. When completed, the project expects to lower electricity consumption by 175,262 KWH per year, which is the equivalent of 145,853 LBs (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year. Oswego County also expects to save almost $24,887 in the building's annual utility costs.

Oswego County is upgrading the energy efficiency of the lighting equipment at the Pulaski Courthouse building located on Bridge Street in Pulaski, New York.

The County participated in the National Grid's Small Business Program - starting with a free energy audits on October of 2009 - to identify energy efficiency improvement opportunities throughout County facilities. The audit recommended upgrading the lighting equipment at the Pulaski Courthouse.

By taking advantage of National Grid's Small Business Program, the County saved $7,159 or 45% of the estimated cost of the project. The project will also realize $3,144 of annual savings in utility cost for the County. Moreover, the Pulaski Courthouse will lower annual electricity use by 28,272 KWH, which is equivalent to 30,873 Lbs. (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year.

Oswego County is upgrading the energy efficiency of the lighting equipment at the Oswego County Courthouse building located on Oneida Street in Oswego, New York.

The County participated in the National Grid's Small Business Program - starting with a free energy audits on October of 2009 - to identify energy efficiency improvement opportunities throughout County facilities. The audit recommended upgrading the lighting equipment at the Oswego Courthouse.

By taking advantage of National Grid's Small Business Program, the County saved $16,974 or approximately 50% of the estimated cost of the project. The project will also realize $7,720 of annual savings in utility cost for the County. Moreover, the Oswego Courthouse will lower annual electricity use by 69,425 KWH, which is equivalent to 75,812 Lbs. (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year.

Oswego County is upgrading the energy efficiency of the lighting equipment at Camp Hollis, located on Lake Short Road in Oswego, New York.

The County participated in the National Grid's Small Business Program - starting with a free energy audits on October of 2009 - to identify energy efficiency improvement opportunities throughout County facilities. The audit recommended upgrading the lighting equipment at the Camp Hollis buildings.

By taking advantage of National Grid's Small Business Program, the County saved $3,306 or approximately 43% of the estimated cost of the project. The project will also realize $1,516 of annual savings in utility cost for the County. Moreover, the Camp's annual electricity use will be lowered by 13,634 KWH, which is equivalent to 14,888 Lbs. (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year.

Oswego County is upgrading the energy efficiency of the lighting equipment at the County's Buildings and Grounds Department building, located on 111 East 11th Street in Oswego, New York.

The County participated in the National Grid's Small Business Program - starting with a free energy audits on October of 2009 - to identify energy efficiency improvement opportunities throughout County facilities. The audit recommended upgrading the lighting equipment at the Buildings and Grounds Department building.

By taking advantage of National Grid's Small Business Program, the County saved $5,718 or over 55% of the estimated cost of the project. The project will also realize $2,703 of annual savings in utility cost for the County. Moreover, the building's annual electricity use will be lowered by 24,311 KWH, which is equivalent to 26,548 Lbs. (pounds) of avoided equivalent Carbon Dioxide emission every year.

The Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) is a 200 Ton Per Day (TPD) Waste To Energy (WTE) conversion facility. Originally commissioned in 1985, the ERF to date has converted over one million tons of municipal solid waste to usable energy. The most important contribution the ERF makes to the solid waste system is the preservation of landfill space. This is a result of the volume reduction from the combustion of the solid waste. The ash remaining after the burn process takes up less than ten percent of the space of solid waste.

The ERF was upgraded 2009 to recover and recycle Ferrous metals. Ferrous metals are metals derived from, or containing, iron. Steel is the most common of these metals, including alloys such as stainless steel.

Recovery of Ferrous metals reduces landfill waste and allow the recovered metals to be reused.