State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson and SUNY College at Brockport President Heidi Macpherson announced a grant of more than $220,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop a training program for building operations and maintenance personnel who will use the New York Energy Manager (NYEM) facility operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to identify opportunities for energy efficiency at their facilities.  

NYEM is a digital energy data management system that collects energy use data from participating buildings across New York State, performs an analysis to identify hidden costs and inefficiencies in energy use trends and patterns, and provides guidance on how to be more efficient. Chancellor Johnson, who visited the facility, said the new training program could eventually be offered throughout the university system.

"SUNY accounts for more than 40 percent of all state-owned buildings, so our leadership is critical as we continue to work with the governor, NYSERDA, NYPA, and others to meet the goals of Executive Order 88 in New York and the Paris Climate Accord," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. "Sustainability and strategic partnerships are two themes within my vision for SUNY, and this training program is an example of these themes at work. Thank you to President Macpherson and the SUNY College at Brockport team for creating a training program that is scalable throughout SUNY, and will have a significant impact on our ability to reach state and national benchmarks in energy efficiency."

"The College at Brockport and SUNY are taking steps to better understand how facilities managers can use building-by-building analytics to create a more energy efficient campus," said College at Brockport President Heidi Macpherson. "We anticipate a reduction in our annual energy spend by at least five percent as a result of this project, saving approximately $260,000 per year. One of our strategic goals is to be a sustainable institution for the 21^stcentury, and this program moves us further down that road."

The NYEM facility was created by New York State as part of Executive Order 88 in support of reducing energy use by 20 percent by 2020. The facility is housed and managed by NYPA at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany.

SUNY Brockport's award under NYSERDA's Building Operations and Maintenance Program is just one example of the expanding partnership between SUNY and NYSERDA under Governor Cuomo.  The partnership helps advance the state's clean energy goals through NYSERDA assisting SUNY's efforts to become a model for the community in building energy efficiency. NYSERDA's program seeks to reduce energy use, associated carbon emissions, and building operations costs by enhancing the skills of operations and maintenance staff and managers across the State. Additionally, the program provides employers and building owners with support to implement workforce development and training projects that create the talent development strategy, on-site training framework, and training tools needed to support building operations and maintenance workers beyond classroom training. It also helps New York achieve its goal of supporting and growing 21st century jobs as part of a self-sustaining clean-energy economy.

Alicia Barton, NYSERDA president and CEO, said, "New York's thriving clean energy sector is growing at a rate of twice the state's overall economy due to Governor Cuomo's nation-leading clean energy agenda, and programs like this one will ensure that trained workers are available to meet the needs of employers in this growing sector. This leading-by-example program will provide real-world experience to maintenance and operations personnel who will be ready to deliver energy efficiency benefits and cost savings to SUNY and the College at Brockport, and throughout New York." 

Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO, said, "We, at NYPA, are excited to partner with SUNY on this initiative, which will enable us to further leverage New York Energy Manager to reduce energy use for our customers across the state. Governor Cuomo recognizes that the power industry is undergoing a transformational change and it is critical for us to adapt with it and lead by example -NYEM is a fundamental building block for us to utilize during that change."

The College at Brockport will work with NYPA to incorporate GPRO, a comprehensive national training and certificate program developed by Urban Green Council that teaches the people who build, renovate, and maintain buildings the principles of sustainability combined with trade-specific green construction knowledge.

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