NYS Awarding $14 Million In Grants For Climate Change Projects

Your town or village could get a big chunk of change from the state just by going green this year.

The DEC Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant Program is back and accepting applications for 2022. These grants are designed to help municipalities fund projects that combat climate change in their communities.

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This year a total of $14 million is available in 50/50 matching grants. This is the most money being distributed into the CSC Grant Program since its start.

The funds are being made available under two broad project categories. The first will support the implementation of projects related to greenhouse gas and climate change reduction. The other will fund planning and assessment projects that follow Climate Smart Community certification actions.

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Eligibility Requirements

Any municipality is eligible to apply, which is defined as a county, city, town or village in New York State. Subdivisions, like schools, fire districts, or private corporations, are not allowed to apply alone. They are encouraged to apply in partnership with an eligible lead municipality.

Municipalities also don't have to already be a registered or certified Climate Smart Community in order to apply. They will have to be registered under the New York State Grants Gateway previously though.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Past Project

Last year, the Town of Saugerties was awarded a grant to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by refrigerants at Kiwanis Ice Arena. The over $269,000 in funding helped replace their outdated chiller with a more efficient one, that uses an ammonia-based refrigerant.

It cut gas emissions by 5,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The chiller also used less energy and had lower maintenance costs than before.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Applications are now being accepted until 4:00pm on July 29th. For additional information on project types, requirements, and eligibility, visit the DEC's Application form.

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