Partners for Climate Action, a Chatham-based nonprofit formed to catalyze bioregional climate action along the estuary watershed of the Hudson River, announced 20 awards from their new Building Decarbonization Grant program in late March—a total of $660,000 that will assist municipalities and local nonprofits in the Hudson Valley that are reducing the carbon footprint of their buildings.
Since 2020, the organization has distributed $3 million in funding, with a commitment to awarding 40 percent of the monies in “disadvantaged and underserved” communities. PCA strives to educate, inform and instigate possibilities for constructive action at the local level—for example, by creating a central database and clearinghouse for the many various sources of climate-friendly funding.
Recipients in the current round of funding include nonprofits based in six Hudson Valley counties, all of whom presented detailed proposals for climate-friendly upgrades including solar, heat pumps, ground source geothermal, insulation and air sealing, and efficient windows and doors. When the work is completed, the projects will collectively reduce regional emissions by over 750 metric tons of CO2e.
Poughkeepsie-based organization Hudson River Housing, one of two recipients slated to receive the maximum $100,000 grant (the other is the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County), has earmarked the funds for rooftop solar, part of a major green retrofit of housing for the homeless. “One of our stipulations was that the projects be retrofits, to minimize waste, and because heating and cooling our aged building stock is responsible for a third of the emissions in New York,” says Paige Ruane, a founding partner of PCA. “Hudson River Housing is doing great work, and they want to achieve energy efficiency to bolster their work toward continued affordability and equity, and to set an example of what can be done.” The funds will cover the installation of 743 solar panels on two buildings, one a former hotel that’s been converted into residential units, helping the organization cut the soaring utility costs that impact its bottom line.
Another grantee, the town of Saugerties, will receive $4,000 to help with “storytelling and outreach” around their planned update of the Kiwanis Ice Arena. “They’re replacing a 12-year-old chiller in the 1,000-square-foot concrete block building where the ice rink is with one that’s partly air-cooled and uses less dangerous chemicals,” says Ruane. “They did a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and this was one of the top emitters, so we’re hoping to help them with the storytelling around this because it’s important to get the word out about refrigerants and what can be done—one of the staff there is part of a national ice rink association, and we think other ice rinks need to know about this.”
Other local recipients include Hawthorne Valley, Kingston’s Old Dutch Church, the Mountain Top Arboretum, and local municipalities including the City of Poughkeepsie, Philmont, Catskill, Germantown, and Claverack. The grant recipients and 15 more who almost made the cut will receive ongoing support in becoming demonstration sites where people can see green improvements in action, and a year of programming that will bring them together with one another and with subject matter experts for Zoom meetings and field trips.
“The beauty of doing this work is that I get to see all the unsung heroes that are on the ground, making amazing things happen and how many people are at the ready, know what needs to be done, and are activated to do it,” says Ruane. “It helps ease my own climate anxiety to know them, and connecting them sparks further action. These can be frustrating, soul-sucking jobs, and we want to make sure the heroes doing them have maximum access to expertise and to each other.”
