Lynbrook going green?

Lynbrook officials are looking at ways to reduce expenditures, and one of their biggest operating costs is energy. So the village board is planning to analyze energy use and determine how to make the six buildings the village owns more energy-efficient.

According to Superintendent of Public Works Phil Healey, the village reviewed its LIPA and National Grid bills over the past year to identify how it might save on energy costs. Some of the ways it has improved its energy efficiency, Healey said, included switching to energy-efficient lighting and doing preventive maintenance at village buildings.

“We’ve done minor improvements, but that can only take us so far,” Healey said. “We need to reduce our energy costs and reduce our use of fossil fuels.”

A lot can be learned by reading energy meters, Healey said. He explained that the village pays 20 cents per kilowatt of electricity, and its monthly electric bill — excluding street lamps — is $4,000, so he hopes this cost can be cut. Trustee Mike Hawxhurst said the village is in the nascent stages of an energy conservation study, which he said would detail potential opportunities for savings. Hawxhurst said hoped the Long Island Power Authority would do the study, but LIPA would only pick up half of the cost, and the village would have to pay for renovations.

“The analysis can be quite expensive,” Hawxhurst said. “There’s a charge for each building, so we’re probably looking at around $10,000 for the study.”

He said the village had contacted the MC Alliance Energy Group about conducting the study. The firm, Hawxhurst said, applied to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority — a public benefit company whose aim is to help the state reduce energy consumption, increase its use of renewable energy sources and protect the environment — for a grant to fund the study, which would pay for any needed building upgrades as well.

“It’s a double win for the village,” said Hawxhurst, adding that he expects an answer on the grant application next week. “We would get the analysis for free, as well as the upgrades.”

Healey said that ideally, the village would like to make all of its buildings more energy-efficient, but for now, officials are focusing on Village Hall, the recreation center and the library. He cited, as an example, Village Hall’s outdated air conditioning system. “It was great 40 years ago,” Healey said, “but the technology and efficiency of units during that time have improved tenfold.”

Hawxhurst said he hopes the energy analysis will begin in January, and Healey said he anticipated that the study would take about six weeks.

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