Clarkson awaiting word on 'green' grant
POTSDAM — Clarkson University officials and others from across the state are waiting to find out if New York could go green with some green from the federal government.
The university is part of a consortium of more than 100 organizations in a grant proposal that would bring $125 million over five years to the state to design and construct green buildings and potentially bring in thousands of jobs.
"We were supposed to hear two weeks ago, so literally, it is an any time kind of thing," university President Anthony G. Collins said. "Now we're on the edge of our chairs waiting."
The federal Department of Energy received more than a dozen proposals competing to set up a "regional innovation cluster," which would develop and implement technology to improve energy efficiency in buildings. California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are among those in the running for the funding, which comes from several federal agencies but is controlled by the Energy Department.
The announcement of four finalists is expected any day, with one eventually being selected to receive the entire $125 million.
If New York is selected as the ultimate winner, the focus on energy efficiency could create as many as 75,000 jobs, according to a letter from CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity, a nonprofit agency involved in the proposal.
"We need to do it collectively, do it collaboratively and take that effort to make jobs in the manufacturing sector and use that to create more jobs to install and utilize or manage energy-efficient buildings," Mr. Collins said.
Potentially, Clarkson would be involved in researching and developing some of the systems for use in the green buildings, including monitoring air quality. As buildings are sealed to prevent temperature-controlled air from escaping, the recycled air can pick up other emissions from the materials in the building that can have a negative effect.
"You need to understand the materials in the building; any emissions that are going in the building that they are not dangerous," Mr. Collins said. "Sealing the building is a relatively simple step. Assessing that your air quality is not affected is more complicated."
The buildings would be designed primarily at the Syracuse Center for Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, using technology developed by private companies as well as the public and private universities involved, including Clarkson and Cornell University, Ithaca.
"We have high hopes that the proposal from New York would be one of the four finalists," Mr. Collins said. "The best potential market for energy-efficient buildings is New York City. It's the biggest concentration of tall buildings in a small space in the world, let alone in the U.S."
