Clean Energy Calendar

Join the 13th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep, a day of service for the Hudson. With your help, to goal is to reach new communities, engage new volunteers, and restore additional stretches of shoreline. Is there a location in your community in need of cleanup, removal of invasive plants, or another type of restoration project?

Here are ways to get involved:

• • Organize a project. Interested in leading a project at a park or shoreline in your community? Submit the Sweep Leader Interest Form and Riverkeeper will reach out with more information about next steps.
  • Volunteer. Interested in registering for a site? Find a location near you and register here>
  • Be a sponsor. Do you own a business interested in helping restore the Hudson River? Email me at kleung@riverkeeper.org for more information about sponsoring the 2024 Riverkeeper Sweep.
  • Sweep Expansion. Riverkeeper is making the Sweep a year-round program, and plan to organize several more projects per month. These projects will have a special focus on invasive species removal and tree planting. Do you have a vegetation project in mind or know someone who is interested in leading one? Please submit you interest on the Sweep Expansion Interest Form.

Over the last 12 years, Sweep leaders have completed 1,199 service projects, bringing together thousands of volunteers from NYC to the Adirondacks to clean up 355 tons of debris, and plant or maintain 7,130 native plants. This incredible effort is made possible by the generosity of our members, sponsors, and supporters. If you would like to support the continued growth of the Riverkeeper Sweep, please consider making a donation. Contributions of any amount are meaningful.

Find a location near you and register here >

Join us for the Annual Spring Sustainability Conference at SUNY New Paltz on Saturday, May 4th. As a collaborative effort between the Mid-Hudson Teacher Center and the NY Master Teacher Program, this event aims to equip K-12 educators with tools to integrate environmental sustainability into their classrooms. With sessions on climate science, communication through arts, and understanding plants in our ecosystem, educators will gain valuable insights and resources to empower students in addressing climate challenges.

NYCP’s Education and Careers Coordinator, Cal Trumann, will present our Working for Change resource during one of the event’s sessions. If your school, club, or community group wants to learn more about New York’s clean energy revolution, consider requesting a free presentation from our staff below. Learn more about the conference below. We hope to see you there!

You can register for the conference here.

Join a comprehensive conference on multifamily weatherization, centered around the theme of “Deconstructing Decarbonization.” Explore the intricate layers of reducing carbon emissions in multifamily residential buildings. Gain valuable insights, network with professionals, and discover actionable solutions to optimize energy performance.

You can register for the conference here.

NYSERDA is hosting all universities, colleges, and community colleges with new offshore wind programs and training on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, for a New York Offshore Wind Academic Symposium: Spotlight on New Courses and Programs. Each program listed in the attached spreadsheet will be given the same four slides and eight minutes to present relevant information to the industry. Audience members in attendance will be given thorough knowledge on offshore wind higher education options across New York State. The event will take place in the New York City Economic Development Authority’s Conference center: One Liberty Plaza, 14th Floor, New York, New York 10006. A continental breakfast and light lunch will be served. Each presenter will share the progress of their programs with similarly engaged colleagues across the region. The event will stimulate new and additional partnerships and provide valuable information to high schools and career readiness organizations interested in learning new pathways for those interested in gaining skills and credentials for offshore wind work. A public facing memo will be provided after the event which will capture the information provided by each institution.

SPEAKERS

ANISH TILAK

Manager, Carbon-Free Buildings, RMI

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SATYAM MAHARAJ

Senior Associate, Carbon-Free Buildings, RMI

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STACY SMEDLEY

Founder of Building Transparency

KARA KOKERNAK

ULI Greenprint Center Sustainability Lead

BECCA TIMMS

Sustainability Lead, Jamestown LP

You can register for the webinar here.

With major clean energy investments being implemented, many U.S. companies have begun to announce new clean energy-related plants and projects across the country. This represents a potential game-changing opportunity for the clean energy workforce and those looking to make a shift into the industry. According to the American Clean Power Plan, “an aggressive decarbonization policy has the potential to create roughly five to six million jobs across solar, wind, and battery storage technologies”.  What do these jobs look like? What types of development and training opportunities exist? How does the industry overcome challenges in the labor market? This event will serve to give a high-level overview of these topics to the clean energy community, Congressional staff, and other key allies in an effort to increase awareness of the opportunities and challenges that exist in the labor market.

You can register for the event here.

Low- and moderate-income households make up fewer than 20% of solar adopters, despite representing over 40% of U.S. households. Federal assistance programs—like the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)—can address this solar access gap through a variety of pathways for low-income households. Just last year, WAP and LIHEAP issued guidance to support the inclusion of solar.

A new report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), “Solar Pathways in Federal Energy Assistance Programs: Expanding the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP),” chronicles NREL’s efforts to document successful implementation pathways through analyzing LIHEAP and WAP annual plans, surveying LIHEAP grant recipients and WAP Grantees about obstacles to solar implementation, and conducting interviews and workshops with program administrators.

In this webinar hosted by the Clean Energy States Alliance, report authors will discuss their findings and explore effective ways that WAP and LIHEAP state agencies can bring solar to their clients.

Speakers:

• Juliana Williams, Energy Markets and Policy Specialist, NREL
• Jenna Harmon, Researcher, Decision Support Analysis, NREL
• Matt Ohloff, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)

You can register for the webinar here.

Are you an educator in NYS interested in clean energy?

Join this NYSERDA-sponsored professional development on NYS’ clean energy goals! Leave this one-day workshop ready to teach your students about clean energy and the future career opportunities it provides through hands-on learning. You’ll gain clean energy lesson plans, materials to use in your classroom, leadership opportunities, confidence to speak about clean energy, Continuing Teacher and Leadership Education (CTLE) credits, and new friends. This program is at no cost to educators, and those who complete a workshop may receive a stipend.

You can apply for the workshop here.

Come for inspiration, advice, and lots of beautiful new additions to make your spring gardens sing!

Don’t forget to bring your gardening tools to be sharpened while you shop! 

9am – 2pm
Free Admission

If you can, bring a cart to streamline your shopping experience.
Use this opportunity to be an environmental steward—carpool with friends to PlantFest!

The City of Kingston’s annual Earth Fair will be returning on May 11th, 2024, to TR Gallo Park. They are currently seeking out local exhibitors who prioritize green business practices to join this year’s event in celebrating sustainability within the Kingston community. To register as an exhibitor, you must fill out the Exhibitor Registration Form (click for form) and submit to agartenstein@kingston-ny.gov before May 1st, 2024.

This year, Kingston Parks and Recreations is partnering with Clearwater and the Hudson River Maritime Museum with support from Radio Kingston and Catskill Mountain Keeper, to bring a waterfront Earth Fair to TR Gallo Park. This year’s Earth Fair will include live music, food trucks, children’s games and activities, a free swap market, electric vehicle displays, green education, sponsored boat rides, and more.

As always, this is a FREE event! Hope to see you there!

You can RSVP for the fair here.

The 14th Annual Capture the Energy Conference & Expo is taking place May 14-16, 2024, at the Albany Capital Center in Albany, NY.

The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) is now seeking speaker presentation proposals for this three-day engaging event focused on growing markets and opportunities for energy storage in New York and the northeastern United States.

The Capture the Energy 2024 Conference & Expo is the premier event for companies seeking opportunities in the rapidly growing energy storage industry in New York and the northeastern United States.

Hosted by NY-BEST, Capture the Energy brings together hundreds of experts in the energy storage and renewable energy industry who are advancing energy storage to meet our climate goals, modernize our grid and transportation systems and grow the clean energy economy.

Join NY-BEST for this content-rich stimulating three-day conference, featuring the following topics:

-Accelerating the path to achieving our climate goals and the multiple roles for energy storage
-Implementing New York’s Roadmap for Energy Storage – getting to 6 GW by 2030 with bulk, retail and residential storage
-Growing domestic manufacturing and the supply chain for energy storage
-Utilizing energy storage to achieve environmental and social justice in our communities
-Electrifying our transportation system: from school buses to aviation
-Developing the clean energy workforce and ensuring a just transition
-Achieving a zero-emission grid by 2040
-Creating the smart dynamic electric grid of the future
-Replacing peaker plants with energy storage
-Advancing Long Duration Storage – technologies, economics, markets and policies
-Expanding opportunities for energy storage on the T&D system: Storage as a Transmission Asset and more
-Leveraging best practices to successfully site and permit battery energy storage
-Maximizing the benefits of Renewables + Storage projects
-Green Hydrogen and its role in the clean energy transition
-Business Models and Project Financing with the Investment Tax Credit
-Reducing carbon emissions in the buildings sector with energy storage
-Battery safety and testing

Learn more and register for the conference here.

The NY School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP) is thrilled to introduce their webinar series on various topics related to school bus electrification and NYSBIP. These webinars will take place on the second Tuesday of every month, providing regular opportunities to learn, engage, and ask questions directly to the program team.

On May 14th, learn about combining NYSBIP with other funding sources and
dive into the intricacies of funding school bus electrification projects by combining resources from the NYSBIP with other available funding sources

You can register for the webinar here.

SPEAKERS

HABIBA AHUT DAGGASH

Senior Associate, Global South

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WHITNEY MANN

Manager, Climate-Aligned Finance

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PAULA VALENCIA

Senior Associate, Global South

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In this webinar you will learn:

– How insurance companies are feeding the climate crisis

– Which insurance companies are insuring major fossil fuel projects

– Which insurance companies are dropping policies and raising rates

– How to find out whether your insurance company invests in fossil fuels

– How to find a responsible insurance company

Speakers include Rev. Amy Brooks Paradise from GreenFaith, Cathy Cowan Becker from Green America, and a surprise guest on how insurance companies are not insuring our future.

You can register for the webinar here.

This show highlights vendors who support New York City’s Clean Fleet and Vision Zero initiatives, and daily operations. Vendors will offer a wide array of products to improve vehicle safety. The show will also highlight vehicles and equipment with alternative fuels and emissions-reducing technologies, along with the latest in light and heavy-duty vehicles, trucks, horticultural equipment, tools, fleet services, and more!

Exhibitors can register here.

Attendees, Guests, and Exhibit staff beyond the primary contact person should register using this form.

In this webinar, Simon Watson with Delft University and Eric Hines with Tufts University will discuss how offshore wind research and development contributes to systems-level solutions for transforming our energy systems, the role of partnerships in advancing research frameworks and new technologies, and how research outcomes are integrated into offshore wind policies and markets.

You can register for the webinar here.

The goal is for students to foster connections – with nature, with themselves, and with each other – and to enable students to turn climate anxiety into climate action.

Here is a breakdown of the summit’s goals:

• The first goal is to show students what sustainability looks like through a variety of careers and experiences (from naturalists with live birds, to engineers with electric vehicles, to place-based learning in our 181-acre school forest, and many more). The second goal is to empower students to take action themselves through civics projects, citizen science research, and peer presentations in a “science fair” model.
• All of our PK-8 students will be participating, plus middle- and high-school students from over 19 other schools and districts in both NY and CT!
• The evening event (4:30-7 PM) invites the public to take part in the conversation and learn from our students! This event features all PK-12 long-term research projects and student presentations, student booths based on their civic action projects, the student Keynote Presentation, food trucks, hands-on workshops and activities, and more!

What is a Repair Café? They are FREE, volunteer-run, community-centered workshops for community members to bring consumer products in need of repair. Working together, volunteer fixers have been able to repair broken or faulty products like toasters, lamps, clothes, bikes, and more, keeping them out of landfills.

You can sign up for to assist at the Repair Café here. Repair experts, fixers, menders, tinkerers, restorers, greeters, organizers and friendly faces wanted! If you can, or you know someone who can fix mechanical or electrical items, basic computer fixes, bike repair, wood items or small furniture, textile or jewelry repairs please contact us by sharing your information.

Remember, you don’t have to be an expert or professional fixer since you can be paired with an experienced fixer.

If you plan on bringing an item for repair, you share your information here.

The Office of General Services and the New York Power Authority are excited to announce the New York State Electric Vehicle Fleet Event this spring on Tuesday, May 21, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm!

This year, the showcase will include a range of light-duty electric vehicles on the Empire State Plaza Concourse and a small group of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles on the Plaza.

This event will allow Fleet managers, sustainability coordinators, elected officials, and members of the public the opportunity to learn how we are working to meet Governor Hochul’s goal to transition all light-duty fleet vehicles to zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and all medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles by 2040.

In addition to the vendors showcasing electric vehicles and charging equipment, we will have experts in attendance ready to answer questions and plan to host a couple of panels throughout the day.

Panels & presentations in Meeting Room 6:

• 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. – EV Charging
• 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Converting Your Fleet
• 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Buying An EV

Energy storage projects, like other energy projects, can experience long delays and be assessed high costs when seeking to interconnect with the electricity grid. But unlike other energy projects, energy storage has unique operational attributes that are often not well accounted for in current interconnection processes, and this can lead to storage projects facing undue burdens that may ultimately cause them to become uneconomical. This issue is widely recognized as a significant barrier to states meeting their clean energy and decarbonization goals.

In this webinar, policy experts from national laboratories examine the problem and discuss new initiatives designed to address interconnection challenges. Diane Baldwin (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) and Michael Ropp (Sandia National Laboratory) will provide insight on the work being done by the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange” (i2X) program, and Will McNamara (Sandia National Laboratory) will discuss interconnection policy recommendations being developed by the newly formed National Consortium for the Advancement of Long Duration Energy Storage. Charlie Vartanian (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) will share technical considerations and possible solutions to the challenges of interconnecting energy storage to the grid.

Speakers:

• Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity
• Diane Baldwin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Michael Ropp, Sandia National Laboratory
• Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratory
• Charlie Vartanian, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)

This webinar is a presentation of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the U.S. ESTAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.

You can register for the event here.

Career Jam Launch is a program for 10th-12th graders highlighting immediate career growth opportunities such as internships, project-based learning, full-time careers, and part-time and seasonal jobs. Career Jam™ is partnering with SUNY Schenectady County Community College and Schenectady High School to create a dynamic experience for nearly 1,500 high school students to explore local career pathways and network with an expanded number of businesses that are hiring in the Capital Region of NY.

You can register here.

This intensive 2-day seminar hosted by New Energy New York (NENY) offers you a comprehensive program covering the latest advancements in lithium-ion battery materials, technology, and hands-on fabrication practices; dive deep into materials, technology, and fabrication.

Typical Program Highlights:

Scientific Lectures: Gain valuable insights from renowned academic and industry experts through insightful lectures on cutting-edge battery materials, electrode processing, and pouch cell technology trends. Stay updated on the newest manufacturing equipment and advancements.

Hands-on Laboratory Training: Get practical experience with the latest semi-automated cylindrical, pouch, and coin cell production equipment at the Rochester Institute of Technology Battery Prototyping Center. Learn the best cell fabrication practices from leading experts. Master the intricacies of formation cycles and cell aging through dedicated laboratory training. You will also receive comprehensive training on charge/discharge schedule design, battery data analysis, and interpretation.

Benefits of Attending:

• Gain in-depth knowledge of the latest lithium-ion battery materials and technologies.
• Acquire practical skills in cell fabrication through hands-on training with advanced equipment.
• Learn from leading experts in academia and industry.
• Network with peers and professionals in the field.

Who Should Attend:

• Engineers/Scientists/Researchers/Students
• Educators and Workforce Development Professionals
• Policymakers and Government Officials
• Manufacturing Managers and Supervisors
• Environmental and Sustainability Professionals
• Investors and Venture Capitalists

Cost: Free* (limit of 35 participants)

Register for the May training here.