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Tompkins County reports big cut in natural gas use but rising bills; county pursues solar, EV chargers and efficiency upgrades
Summary
County sustainability staff said natural gas use dropped roughly one‑third in 2024 thanks to geothermal and HVAC work, but energy costs rose because of supply contract changes and NYSEG rate increases; officials outlined grants, EV charger deployments and continued green facilities work.
Tompkins County’s sustainability team reported measurable progress in cutting fossil fuel use in 2024 while warning that energy bills have risen despite lower consumption.
Chief Sustainability Officer Terry Carroll told the legislature that county buildings cut natural gas use materially as a result of boiler replacements, HVAC retrofits and new control systems. “Almost 0.333, of our natural gas usage has decreased,” Carroll said, and he credited the green facilities program and targeted capital projects for the change. He added that electricity use was down about 2% year‑over‑year, while natural gas declined much more, reflecting fuel switching and efficiency measures.
Carroll and Sustainability Coordinator Haley Delisle outlined program investments and grants: a state clean energy communities award of $825,000 for green facilities phase 2 (including a roughly 132 kW solar canopy at a county partner site), a $30,000 Clean Energy Communities program grant received in 2023 that funded outreach, and distribution of 67 induction cooktops to residents through a healthy‑neighborhoods partnership. Carroll said the county’s hydroelectric production fell from prior years and reduced expected savings; he also noted the county is still waiting on about $1.8 million in federal tax‑credit reimbursements related to prior projects.
The presentation also described fleet electrification progress (about 30% of the county fleet is now electrified under the current mix of leased vehicles), deployment of solar EV charger battery units (EVRX) at three county sites, and plans to install two 200 kW dual‑port chargers at the airport. Carroll said the main drivers of higher bills in 2024 were an expiring supply contract that required renegotiation and NYSEG delivery/demand charge increases tied to a recent rate case. “Demand charges were a real killer for this,” he said when walking through a sample building analysis.
What’s next: the county plans to update greenhouse‑gas inventories, complete a district thermal feasibility study, pursue additional solar and canopies, continue rate‑case participation, and track longer‑term opportunities for renewables and tax‑credit recovery.
