Village of Croton-on-Hudson Unveils Solar Roof Installation at Washington Engine Firehouse

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County recently completed a 36 kilowatt (kW) solar installation on the roof of its Washington Engine firehouse on North Riverside Avenue. The system will provide the power needed to run the firehouse and to start using the firehouse’s existing heat pumps to heat as well as cool the facility. Doing so will replace most of the fuel oil presently used.  

The entire cost of the project was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA)’s Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program and NY-Sun program, the State’s $3.3 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar while making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities.  

Depending on the future costs of electricity and fuel oil, the project is estimated to cut $7,000 to $10,000 off the firehouse’s annual utility bills. The system will also save about 16 metric tons (MT) per year off the firehouse’s carbon footprint. 

To secure the grant, Croton’s Sustainability Committee aggressively pursued actions to build points under the CEC program including performing specific high impact actions such as passing the NYStretch Energy Code and completing community campaigns promoting electric vehicles and community solar.   

Croton Mayor Brian Pugh hailed the project as “a great example of how even small communities can help reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions causing climate change.” 

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), said, “We are proud to support the Village of Croton-on-Hudson as it leverages clean energy actions to create a better future for its residents and businesses. NYSERDA is proud to support all communities in their strategic pursuit of solar, heat pumps, energy-saving building codes and other clean energy projects to help New Yorkers realize significant savings while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.” 

The solar contractor on the job, Croton Energy Group, was selected as the installer after successfully responding to the Village’s RFP for this project in 2022. This is the second solar project completed by Croton Energy Group for the Village; in 2020, they installed the 301kilowatt (kW) solar system atop the roof of Croton’s Department of Public Works garage on Yorktown Road.