Sullivan County, New York

SULL I VAN COUNTY , NY program, which a couple of our municipalities took advantage of, where we cost-shared the installation of level-two charging stations; one is located at the Thompson Town Hall and another in the Town of Bethel municipal lot. The County will soon be installing two charging stations at the government center in Monticello and we have several other businesses investing in the infrastructure themselves. New York State currently has a program called ‘Charge Ready New York’ that will cost share the installation of the charging infrastructure and we’re encouraging everyone to take advantage of that while the funds are available. We started off with two publicly accessible locations two years ago and now we’re up to about 10 and we’re continuing to develop that network.” Climate Smart Communities is a New York State program that encourages counties, towns, villages, and cities to be more climate-resilient and involved in the budding clean energy economy and to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. As Brown explains, “Our Climate Action Plan, the purchase of renewable energy, the EV charging stations, support of our local farmers’ market initiatives, are all considered actions that are creditable for the Climate Smart Communities program. It’s not easy to become certified and we’re very excited that we’re one of the first 15 municipalities in New York State to achieve the Bronze level, and several of our communities have been certified as well. We’re also proud of our Clean Energy Communities designation by NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority).” Taking it one step further, Sullivan County has created its own internal Office of Sustainable Energy that recognizes clean energy as a priority starting at the community level. In addition to working to make county operations as sustainable as possible, the Office provides assistance and guidance to the business community and residents; seeking to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient. “It all ties into the fact that we’re known for our natural beauty, and we want to preserve that,” says Potosek. “We obviously want development in the right places, but we want to make sure we have clean water and a clean environment where we can go out and recreate. That’s where we’re attracting a lot of people from the Tri-State area into Sullivan County. It gets them out of the city into a more natural environment. It’s one of our strategic advantages of being so close to New York City, where you can be out in the country and still near one of the most populous urban centers in the world.” Giving a shout-out to local green leaders, Catskill Brewery is a craft brewery located in a LEED Platinum-certified building, and the site of one of the County’s first EV charging station sites promoting environmental tourism. Delaware River Solar is responsible for deploying much of the community distributed generation. Located in Sullivan County, where they started business, the company now has 55 projects across the state of New York. The Center for Discovery has been involved in environmental sustainability for a long time because of the positive impact it has on the health of their clientele. As part of that, they operate organic farms. Growing organic produce to feed their residents is a big part of their program. pictured The Catskill Brewery in Livingston Manor is one of close to a dozen breweries and distilleries scattered about Sullivan County. Each offers its own take on distilled spirits, but together they have created a distinctive craft beverage trail that draws thousands of tourists and residents, including NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo.