Towns vie over projects
Ballston, Malta compete on clean energy upgrades
In a friendly rivalry created by NYSERDA, the towns of Ballston and Malta are now neck-andneck on clean energy projects.
This past week, Ballston completed enough projects to be certified as a Clean Energy Community by NYSERDA. Malta had previously reached that designation.
Ballston officials celebrated crossing the threshold but said there was much more to do.
“We are far from done,” said Ballston Supervisor Eric Connolly. “It is our responsibility as elected officials to find ways to become less dependent on fossil fuels.”
The Town Board will consider new projects soon. The board can apply for grants to support clean energy initiatives, based on how many points the town has earned for its previous projects.
Ballston now has 1,200 points on NYSERDA’S climate action “scorecard,” earned for projects ranging from clean energy upgrades to creating a unified solar permit.
Malta has 1,300 points, but no one else is close. Saratoga Springs has only 400 points.
NYSERDA updates its website regularly with the scorecard and a leaderboard to encourage municipalities to outdo one another.
To get more points — and, more importantly, to help the environment — Ballston officials are now encouraging residents to sign up for community solar.
The town has partnered with Ampion for community solar. The company uses solar farms to reduce its customers bills by about 10 percent. Those who sign up through the town’s program get a $100 Visa gift card as well, and Ampion will donate $100 to the town’s walkability fund for each new customer.
The town only needs four more people to sign up to meet the requirements for another action item on NYSERDA’S scorecard — and pull ahead of Malta on the leaderboard for Saratoga County.
Malta is working on community solar too, through Omni Renewables. The town’s electric accounts were enrolled this spring in Omni’s community solar program, which links users to solar farms. Each resident who also signs up gets a $50 Visa e-card, and Omni will donate $50 to the town’s bikeway and sidewalk improvement project fund. Residents must sign up online and type in MALTA as the promo code at https://portal.onrenewables.com/residential?referral=malta.
Unlike other programs, in which the customer pays a company directly for all electric use, the Omni program gives customers a credit on their National Grid bills. That way they continue to pay National Grid but see a reduction in their bill.