Does anyone realize that there is money available for PV panels, energy
audits and energy efficiency work on residential and commercial buildings
in NY? And what's more it is not that difficult to access. I work for the
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) but
couldn't make this claim until I actually went through and participated in
the programs that I helped create.

The programs I used for my house in Troy were administered by NYSERDA and
CPC, the Community Preservation Corp., so I finally got to use a program I
helped create! It has been a good experience, one that I would be happy to
share. Usually it is a maze of confusion and the reward seems not worth
the effort, but with a little guidance and someone else leading the way
through the morass of forms, websites, assistance, incentives, state and
federal tax credits, etc. the return on time investment can be much more
rewarding. And why not take advantage of these credits? I think sometimes
that these programs are designed to confuse and make it difficult to
actually get the money! However, if we crack the code and figure it out,
we can make the system work for us.

************************

Charle-Pan Dawson works as a project manager for a high performance
buildings program and helping develop a green building program at NYSERDA,
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Web pages I
authored for NYSERDA may be found at
http://www.nyserda.org/programs/Green_Buildings/default.asp. He is also a
LEED accredited professional and studying to become a Dynamic Governance
facilitator.

The event will be preceded by a potluck dinner at 6pm.