Appendix 5: NYSERDA Clean Energy Assistance Programs
Find a Program
Take a look at all the ways NYSERDA is making New York State’s clean energy future a reality. Here, you'll find an alphabetical list of NYSERDA's programs. Scroll the list, or use the “Sector” and/or ”Technology” filters to refine the list.
Advanced Buildings Program
Supporting entrepreneurs, startups, researchers, established companies, or anyone that has developed concepts for innovative clean energy technologies or business models to bring those solutions to market.
Agriculture Energy Audit Program
Provides no-cost energy audits to eligible farms and on-farm producers to identify electric and natural gas energy efficiency upgrades including but not limited to orchards, dairies, greenhouses, vegetables, vineyards, grain dryers, and poultry or egg producers.
Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Program
Offers financial incentives toward the cost of comprehensive, whole-house energy efficiency improvements to income-qualified homeowners and owners of two-to-four unit residential homes.
Become a NYSERDA Qualified Contractor
Provides support and financial incentives for contractors that partner with NYSERDA to offer solutions that reduce energy usage and costs for residents, businesses, institutions, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations. Participation requirements vary by program.
Building Energy Code Development, Compliance, and Enforcement Training & Resources
Provides no-cost and low-cost training and support services to code enforcement officials, architects, engineers, building energy professionals, and members of the construction trades to improve compliance with State Energy Code. Encourages the voluntary local adoption of more stringent stretch energy code.
Buildings of Excellence Competition
Inspires the design, construction, and operation of carbon neutral-ready multifamily buildings by rewarding visionary architects and developers with recognition and monetary awards for their carbon neutral projects.
Build-Ready Program
Facilitates siting of new large-scale renewable energy projects by funding and overseeing the design and development of underutilized land while compensating public and private landowners. Sites are made build-ready for private renewable energy developers to construct and operate projects.
Carbon Neutral Buildings Roadmap
Identifies pathways to decarbonize New York’s building stock by 2050 with a primary focus on single-family homes, multifamily residential buildings, commercial offices, and higher education campuses.
Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development Program
Supports regionally significant, net-zero economic development projects. Incentives are available for projects spanning agriculture, downtown revitalization, institutional sectors, arts and culture, workforce development, manufacturing, food and beverage production, and mixed use.
Charge NY Program
Connects New York residents, businesses, municipalities, car dealers, fleet owners to the resources and rebates allowing for greater adoption of electric vehicles and availability of charging stations.
Clean Energy Communities Program
Provides guidance, informational resources, and access to grant funding for municipalities to implement clean energy solutions and track progress toward energy saving goals.
Clean Energy Internship Program
Provides funding to eligible clean energy businesses, organizations, and local municipalities for the purpose of hiring interns to perform work in the clean energy sector. Prospective interns can apply for paid positions in the clean energy industry, and NYSERDA will reimburse employers on a percentage of the interns’ wages.
Clean Energy Siting Resources
Offers technical assistance, training, step-by-step instructions and tools to help local governments manage responsible clean energy development, including permitting processes, property taxes, siting, zoning, and more.
Clean Energy Standard
Requires 70 percent of New York’s electricity come from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind by 2030, bringing investments, economic development, and jobs to the State. Access program information and results to date on Large-Scale Renewables, Offshore Wind, and Build-Ready.
Clean Energy Training Services
Establishes a pool of qualified contractors to deliver training, develop curriculum and/or training tools, and provide market expertise/services related to clean energy workforce development and training. The goal of this funding is to help ensure that New York businesses have an adequate supply of energy efficiency and clean technology workers with the necessary occupational skills, credentials, and experience to participate in the clean energy economy.
Clean Energy Workforce Development and Training
Provides funding, educational resources, and training programs for new and existing workers and employers to develop careers in clean energy and advance skills implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions.
Clean Green Campuses
Provides support, resources, and recognition for colleges and universities in New York State that implement clean energy projects and principles on their campuses, in their classrooms, and in their surrounding communities.
Clean Heating and Cooling Communities Campaign
Helps homeowners and businesses learn about and install energy-efficient clean heating and cooling technologies that don’t require oil, propane, or natural gas. The Clean Heating and Cooling Communities are nonprofit, community-based organizations supported by local governments and comprised of friends, neighbors, environmental advocates, and technical experts.
Clean Transportation Program
Provides assistance to businesses, local governments, public agencies, universities, and entrepreneurs for the development, demonstration, and deployment of innovative transportation technologies and strategies that increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Justice Fellowship
Funds year-long, full-time fellowships at organizations and businesses that advance climate justice and clean energy priorities for disadvantaged communities for individuals who are from priority populations or currently reside in disadvantaged communities. Eligible employers can apply for funding to support their climate justice fellowship opportunities.
Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act)
Requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels, which will transform New York’s economy, create new jobs, and build more resilient communities.
Comfort Home Program
Provides incentives to homeowners in select markets toward “seal and insulate packages” that help solve common problems like drafts, uncomfortable temperatures, and ice dams. Additional rebates are available for installing heat pumps.
Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Carbon Challenge
Provides funding and technical support to large, non-residential energy users to implement energy-saving or carbon-reducing projects awarded through a competitive proposal submission process.
Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Resources
Provides guidance to municipalities toward implementing Commercial PACE financing for commercial and multifamily buildings.
Community Heat Pump Systems
Funds the scoping, development, and installation of community (or district-style) heat pump systems for both new construction and building retrofit projects in settings such as college campuses, medical campuses, residential complexes, or downtown corridors.
Drive Clean Rebate for Electric Cars Program
Offers a point-of-sale rebate toward the purchase or lease of a new plug-in hybrid or battery-powered electric car that can be paired with other Federal or State tax incentives.
Empire Building Challenge
Provides funding for owners of high-rise building portfolios to test innovative approaches to low-carbon building retrofits. The Empire Building Challenge demonstrates the feasibility of new low-carbon retrofit products and design approaches by facilitating partnerships among high-rise building owners and leaders from the construction, design, and engineering communities.
EmPower New York Program
Offers no-cost energy efficiency services such as insulation, air sealing, and installation of energy efficient lighting and appliances to low-income homeowners and renters.
Energy & Climate Equity Strategy
Establishes partnerships with frontline and historically marginalized communities in clean energy policy and program development processes through community engagement processes.
Energy Efficiency and Clean Technology Training
Funds training initiatives that provide the technical skills, relevant education, and hands-on experience to prepare both new and current workers for jobs in New York’s energy efficiency and clean technology industries. Proposals are welcomed from schools, businesses, trade associations, unions, and other eligible training providers with a demonstrated track record in energy-related training, job preparedness, and/or job placement.
Energy Storage Program
Offers funding and technical support to building owners, municipalities, energy storage developers, contractors, and integrators for installing energy storage technologies.
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program
Provides executive-level mentorship to early-stage climate technology startups, guiding them through specific projects and issues, such as staffing for growth, budget management, resource planning, strategic partnering and board management.
Environmental Research Program
Supports monitoring and assessment of environmental conditions, informs policy, and fosters technological innovation related to energy use and production, including emerging energy options. The program brings together the diverse perspectives and experiences of universities, government agencies, industry, the environmental community, and the public.
Extreme Heat Action Plan
Identifies a plan for New York State to address more frequent and intense extreme heat events driven by climate change and mitigate the disproportionate impacts faced by disadvantaged communities.
Flexible Technical Assistance (FlexTech) Program
Offers a cost-share toward technical services to help businesses make more informed energy decisions. A dedicated team of engineers, technology experts, and energy consultants works with customers to create a customized assessment that identifies specific opportunities for reducing energy consumption and costs.
Heat Pump Program (NYS Clean Heat)
Provides guidance and incentives to homeowners, businesses, and contractors toward the installation of clean heating and cooling equipment, including cold-climate air source heat pumps (ASHP), ground source heat pumps (GSHP), and heat pump water heaters (HPWH).
Home Energy Efficiency Programs
Helps residents determine which energy efficiency program best suits their needs, based on location, household size, and income. Programs include Residential Energy Audits, Residential Financing, Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®, and EmPower New York.
Industrial Programs
Connects industrial manufacturers to NYSERDA programs that allow those organizations to manage energy in a coordinated and strategic way—allowing businesses to increase profitability, create competitive advantages, and achieve greater resiliency.
Innovative Market Strategies Program
Identifies and funds projects that demonstrate innovative, scalable strategies to reduce costs and increase access to building decarbonization solutions.
Integrated Energy Data Resource (IEDR) Program
Develops a centralized data platform that securely collects, integrates, and provides useful access to a large and diverse set of energy-related information. This data plays a critical role in informing investment decisions, identifying operational inefficiencies, monitoring the effectiveness of policy objectives, promoting innovation, and encouraging new business models.
Just Transition Site Reuse Planning Program
Provides no-cost planning services and technical assistance to help communities reuse fossil fuel power plant sites and transition to zero-emission electricity generation at those sites.
Large-Scale Renewables
Supports renewable energy development and procurement from eligible developers and generators to achieve the Clean Energy Standard goal of generating 70% of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. NYSERDA offers several solicitations focused on new renewable energy development, maintaining existing renewable resources, and increasing renewable energy penetration in New York City.
Loan Loss Reserve Program
Covers a portion of the losses on defaulted loans at no cost to participating lenders in order to lower the risk of developing and issuing new clean energy financing products.
Low-Income Forum on Energy (LIFE)
Brings together organizations and individuals committed to addressing the challenges and opportunities facing low-income New Yorkers as they seek safe, affordable, and reliable energy.
Multifamily Building Programs
Provides multifamily building owners with multiple paths to make energy-efficient upgrades and manage energy usage at their properties. NYSERDA offers a variety of programs to help identify, plan, fund, and implement energy efficiency measures in multifamily buildings.
Multifamily Buildings Low-Carbon Capital Planning Support
Offers cost-share incentives to help multifamily building owners pay for an energy study of their buildings. To be eligible, studies must focus on electrification or electrification-readiness.
Multifamily Buildings Low-Carbon Pathways Program
Provides funding to implement a low-carbon energy-saving retrofit for multifamily buildings through incentive packages focused on four major building energy systems: Envelope (e.g., air sealing and insulation), ventilation, heating and cooling, and domestic hot water.
Multifamily Financing Programs
Provides multifamily building owners with a variety of affordable and flexible financing opportunities to help make cost-effective energy improvements to their properties.
New Construction – Commercial Program
Offers technical support and financial incentives to businesses, institutions, schools, and healthcare facilities to identify and install energy efficiency, electrification, and carbon reduction solutions in their non-residential and mixed-use buildings. Eligible projects may include new construction, adaptive reuse, change of use, and substantial renovations to existing buildings.
New Construction - Housing
Offers financial incentives and technical support to property developers and building design and construction professionals for the design, development, and construction of carbon neutral buildings that consume less energy, emit less carbon, and are more resilient. Eligible projects include new construction or gut-rehabs of residential and mixed-use buildings, inclusive of single-family homes, multi-unit developments, multifamily buildings, residence halls, dormitories, and congregate living facilities, exclusive of nursing homes.
New York Clean Transportation Prizes
Offering funding for innovative solutions to electrify transportation, reduce air pollution, and enhance clean mobility in disadvantaged communities. Prizes are awarded through a competitive proposal process.
New York Generation Attribute Tracking System (NYGATS)
Records information about electricity generated, imported, and consumed within New York State. NYGATS also issues, tracks, and manages energy attribute certificates and renewable energy credits (RECs). Registered NYGATS users can trade, retire, or verify and substantiate ownership of RECs to support compliance or voluntary claims.
New York State Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards
Establishes and adopts minimum energy and water efficiency requirements for residential and commercial products and appliances that are sold, rented, and leased in New York State.
New York State Strategic Fuel Reserve
Allows prequalified fuel distributors to access gasoline and diesel reserves and provide these fuels to emergency responders and other entities during a declared State energy emergency.
New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program
Provides vouchers, or discounts, to fleets to accelerate market acceptance of advanced vehicle technologies in the commercial truck and bus sectors.
NY Green Bank
Provides access to capital to increase private investment in New York’s clean energy markets through various forms of financial support such as credit enhancement, project aggregation, and securitization. Key asset classes include but aren’t limited to clean energy generation, energy efficiency, clean transportation, clean energy storage, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable water infrastructure.
Offshore Wind
Supports offshore wind energy as a major source of affordable, renewable power for New York State, especially for the New York City metropolitan area and Long Island. NYSERDA is the lead agency coordinating the offshore wind opportunities in the State.
On-site Energy Manager Program
Offers a cost-share for industrial and commercial facilities or buildings to hire a dedicated, full-time on-site energy manager. Energy managers are responsible for creating efficient processes that decrease cost and waste—helping organizations lower operational costs, reduce maintenance time, and create comfortable, safe facilities.
On-the-Job Training Program
Offers incentives to eligible energy efficiency and clean technology businesses throughout the supply chain to hire and provide on-the-job training for new workers. The program also provides access to qualified candidates and assistance developing training plans through the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).
P-12 Schools Initiative
Provides resources and programs to pre-kindergarten through grade 12 schools that traditionally lack resources to invest in clean energy infrastructure improvements.
Predevelopment Lending Program
Offers low- and no-interest loans to cover the cost of an Integrated Physical Needs Assessment (IPNA) for affordable multifamily buildings or small commercial properties. An IPNA is a property evaluation tool that integrates energy, water, and health assessments into a holistic report and may be a compliance requisite for other State programs.
Real Time Energy Management (RTEM) Program
Offers upfront cost-sharing incentives to help small businesses and commercial office tenants upgrade their building management systems to more advanced, cloud-based, real-time platforms that enable organizations to optimize their building operations and equipment. RTEM project expenses may include hardware, installation, and technical support.
Regional Clean Energy Hubs Program
Funds regionally operated clean energy hubs that facilitate outreach, education, and engagement on behalf of NYSERDA at the local level, so all New Yorkers can benefit from awareness of and access to NYSERDA’s clean energy programs and initiatives. Each Hub works directly with its local community to facilitate the development of an inclusive Statewide clean energy economy and achieve the Climate Act goal of ensuring that 35% of the benefits associated with clean energy and energy efficiency investments are realized in historically disadvantaged communities.
Residential and Property Owner Income-Eligible Programs
Connects income-eligible residents and property owners to NYSERDA programs that offer low-to no-cost solutions and enhanced incentives toward improvements that save energy and money.
Residential Energy Assessment Programs
Provides qualified residents with a no cost, top-to-bottom home energy assessment that will identify the root causes of any drafts, inconsistent temperatures, heating and cooling system failures, and where a home may be wasting energy. NYSERDA offers several energy assessment programs that make it easy and affordable for owners of one-to-four family homes to take control of their energy bills and live more comfortably.
Residential Financing Programs
Provides a variety of loan options to help residents finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements at their homes through NYSERDA's programs. These loans provide lower interest rates to lower-income residents and those who may not qualify for traditional financing.
RetrofitNY Program
Funds carbon neutral retrofit and building electrification pilot projects in affordable multifamily building stock with the goal of innovating standardized, scalable solutions that will improve the aesthetic and comfort of New York's buildings while dramatically improving their energy performance.
REV Connect Online Platform
Streamlines knowledge sharing, solicitations, and technical feedback among New York State utilities and technology companies in order to accelerate innovation for New York State's energy system.
Scale for ClimateTech
Helps clean technology startup companies overcome obstacles related to manufacturing, scale up operations, grow their teams, develop supply chain partnerships, and expand their business operations.
Small Business Financing Program
Offers loan options for small businesses, multifamily building owners, and not-for-profit organizations to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
Small Commercial and Not-for-Profits Green Jobs - Green New York Energy Studies
Offers a cost-share toward energy studies to eligible small businesses and not-for-profits to help identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.
Smart Grid Program
Funds the research and development of a smarter, modernized New York State electrical grid that can be powered by renewable energy with lower operating costs. With an improved electrical grid, New Yorkers will have access to more affordable electricity and a more resilient and reliable energy system.
Solar Program (NY-Sun)
Provides incentives, financing, and education to make solar energy more accessible to residents, businesses, and communities. Education opportunities through NY-Sun include specific training resources for local governments to help bring solar power to their communities.
Strategic Energy Management Program
Offers professional coaching for managers and facilities teams at industrial operations to help them optimize their organization's energy use and increase profitability through data collection and a continuous improvement approach.
SUNY Concierge
Offers a wide range of programs and services specifically tailored to help SUNY institutions accomplish their clean energy and sustainability goals.
Workforce Training - Building Operations & Maintenance
Funds and develops training projects to prepare new and/or current building operations and maintenance workers with the necessary skills to operate efficient and/or electrified building systems and technologies.