Clean Energy & Equity for Low-Income Homes
Dr. Gay Nicholson, President, Sustainable Finger Lakes
Thurs. June 15, 7:00-8:30 pm
Sustainable Finger Lakes has run its local carbon offset fund, Finger Lakes Climate Fund, since 2010 with a focus on addressing the twin challenges of climate change and income inequality. Climate Fund grants have been given to 86 households across 12 counties of the region to help pay for insulation, air sealing, and heat pumps. In recent years, they have boosted their impact by winning grants from NYSERDA and Tompkins County to provide substantial subsidies for heat pump installations in the homes of lower-income families. In 2023, they launched two pilot projects to bring heat pumps into two housing sectors that have received the least amount of state and federal clean energy support: mobile homes and low-income rentals in 1-4 unit buildings. This talk will dive into the details of the design and launch of the two pilots.
Since 2004, Gay Nicholson has led Sustainable Finger Lakes (formerly “Sustainable Tompkins”) in designing and implementing an integrated program to advance the creation of a more sustainable regional community. Gay emphasizes a systems approach to working with partners to build the infrastructure and social capacity for more sustainable ways of living and working. Gay participates in a number of local partnerships related to energy and climate, equity as an economic driver, and sustainable agriculture.
