Tompkins County accepts Inflation Reduction Act clean-energy credits, moves ahead with boilers and solar canopy after geothermal grant miss

Tompkins County’s Facilities and Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 16 voted to accept approximately $1.7 million in clean-energy tax credits made available under the federal Inflation Reduction Act and authorized deployments for green fleet and green facilities projects.

The move, taken by unanimous voice vote after a motion by Mike and second by Susan, will allow the county to recover credit-eligible costs already spent on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and certain building energy projects and to reinvest proceeds in additional green projects.

The credits were described by Terry Carroll of the Department of Planning and Sustainability as “a little over $1,700,000 in funding, from the federal government” tied to past purchases of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and a geothermal system installed for county facilities. Carroll said the credits are available because of a direct-pay election under the Inflation Reduction Act and that the county has submitted the required paperwork and expects a check “hopefully in the next 60 days or so.”

The resolution (ID 13026) was presented as a corrected version prepared shortly before the meeting; committee members confirmed the funds were already factored into capital planning and not new, unrestricted revenue. “This is all planned money though too, right? This is all factored into — this is no new found money,” one legislator asked. Carroll replied that some funding was earmarked to be returned to the same accounts and used for follow-on projects such as vehicle purchases and the next round of green facilities work, including boilers at the Human Services building.

The committee then discussed Phase 2 of the county’s green facilities program. Carroll reported that a Consolidated Funding Application to the state for $2 million to support geothermal at the emergency response facility was not successful: “we were not amongst them. So we will not be receiving $2,000,000 to help fund the geothermal system at the department of emergency response.”

Despite that grant denial, staff said they issued a notice to proceed late last week to start two Phase 2 projects: replacement of aging boilers at the Human Services building and construction of a solar canopy at the Health Department. Raul (county staff) told the committee Johnson Controls is lining up contractors and that the boiler replacement is “the most critical” item; he noted the boilers being replaced date to the building’s original 1997 construction and will be exchanged for high-efficiency condensing boilers. When asked how efficient modern boilers are, a staff member responded, “We’re in the nineties. Upper nineties.”

Officials said they will continue to explore geothermal district heating options in the downtown block and will meet this month with county leadership to consider whether Inflation Reduction Act proceeds can mitigate the loss of the state grant. For the solar canopy, staff said they expect site work in spring and hoped the canopy would be operational by late summer or early fall.

Why it matters: the credits help the county recover previously incurred costs and free capital for additional energy-efficiency projects. The failure to secure the $2 million state grant, however, narrowed geothermal options for the emergency response facility and required prioritizing other measures to reduce energy use and emissions.

The committee did not record a roll-call tally for the resolution; the chair declared the motion carried after asking “All in favor? Are there any opposed? Motion carries.”