PCA Funds $660,000 in Building Decarbonization Grants

PCA is thrilled to grant $660,000 in total funding to twenty recipients—municipalities and local nonprofits in the Hudson Valley that are reducing the carbon footprint of their buildings.

Fourteen grantees will focus on implementation projects, such as solar, heat pumps, insulation and air sealing, efficient windows and doors, or ground source geothermal, as is the case with the Marbletown Community Center, pictured here.

Four municipalities will be receiving $5,000 each for energy studies for their buildings, and two applicants—Hyde Park Library and Village of Philmont—will use the funds ($12,000 and $15,000 respectively) for engineering and design to position themselves for applying for larger sources of implementation funding. 

Two applicants received the maximum offered: grants of $100,000 each are going to Hudson River Housing for rooftop solar on a green retrofit project that will serve as housing for homeless families, and to the YMCA of Kingston & Ulster County for the installation of insulation, heat pumps and efficient windows and doors in their gym, making the facility more usable in the hot summer months. PCA received 70 applications totaling over $4.2 million dollars in requests, with many more deserving applications than we were able to fund. (Find out more about how to support this work.)

A huge thanks goes out to our Selection Committee who helped us exceed our goal of 40% of funding going to applicants based in NY State Designated Disadvantaged Communities (DACs): 67% of funding will be going to DACs. Completion of the full scope of the PCA-funded projects will result in the estimated reduction of over 750 metric tons of CO2e. 

We are also bringing together the grantees as a cohort to provide additional support beyond the funding. We will host technical experts at office hours and as guest speakers, as well as a few field trips to inspiring building decarbonization projects in the Hudson Valley. 

Many of the projects include plans for community outreach and using these buildings as demonstration sites. The Mountain Top Arboretum, pictured above, will be completely fossil-fuel-free and is creating a book about their building. We will be sure to share the stories of these projects with you over the course of the 1-year Building Decarbonization Grant cycle. 

Find out more about the Building Decarbonization Grant program and view the list of recipients here.