Two environmentalists with local ties – Keith Shue and Jay Egg – share 2020 Constellation Prize for Policy Impact, for helping derail a fossil-fuel project that would have served the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
The prize is presented by a group of environmentalists and social scientists from across the country.
By JENNIFER HILL • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA – Enthusiasm about municipal geothermal heating, pursued warmly last spring, has turned cool with the weather.
City Mayor Gary Herzig and Town Supervisor Bob Wood have become aware of a state Health Department regulation prohibiting placing geothermal pipes alongside drinking-water mains.
“I don’t think Egg was aware of the regulations,” said Wood. “I think he was very enthusiastic about cities using geothermal energy.” The town did not contract a feasibility study, he said, but some Southside businesses are conferring with Egg.
For Herzig, the finding came out of a $10,000 feasibility study by consultant Jay Egg that found the project unfeasible. “I certainly would never have signed a contract if I had known the purpose of the project was strongly forbidden by the state,” the mayor said.
By JENNIFER HILL • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal
WEST ONEONTA – Geothermal energy fever is sweeping Greater Oneonta.
First the city and now the town are “seriously considering” going geothermal, using heat from beneath the earth to warm above-earth homes.
Jay Egg, a geothermal system consultant, met at length with City Manager George Korthauer and other staffers Tuesday, April 9, and is due back at City Hall this week with initial findings.
Wednesday, April 10, he briefed the Oneonta Town Board and the full audience in attendance.
Both municipalities are asking Egg for feasibility studies, the city for pairing geothermal development with replacing the South Main Street water main; the town, for doing the same on a loop that would be created for the Southside water district.
There are unknowns, said Town Supervisor Bob Wood. “We don’t know how much this would cost,” he said. “It will likely be at least a couple millions of dollars.”
Other unknowns are how much heat would be produced, how much it would cost, the return on investment, and home many businesses and homes need to connect.
Regardless, Egg said it’s a reality renewable energy will replace fossil fuels in the coming years, especially given New York State’s current incentives to switch.
By JENNIFER HILL • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal
ONEONTA – Oneonta could soon become a world leader in renewable energy.
The City of Oneonta and Jay Egg, CEO of Geo Egg, a Florida-based geothermal design and consulting company, are about to sign a $10,000 contract for a feasibility study on paralleling a geothermal heating system with the water main being installed in South Main Street over the next eight months.
If Geo Egg determines it is feasible and the city decides to do it, Oneonta will become the first city in the world to install a retrofitted geothermal heating system.
“This will be a landmark system,” Egg said. “There is no retrofitted geothermal system on a city level anywhere.”
Egg met Tuesday, Feb. 9, with City Manager George Korthauer, City Engineer Greg Mattice, and Gary Smith, Fox Hospital’s vice president/operations, to finalizing the contract.
ONEONTA – Common Council Tuesday will consider a $10,000 contract with consultant Egg Geo, St. Petersburg, Fla., to look at possible benefits of geothermal heating.
Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, following a 6:30 p.m. reception in City Hall lobby to recognize the city’s 2019 Women Trailblazer Award winners Kelly Ames and Carol Mandigo.
COOPERSTOWN – With a week to go, 125 people have already signed up for the Otsego County Chamber’s “Energy Summit: Infrastructure & Economy,” and the day has expanded from the original six hours to a nine-hour program to accommodate a growing roster of speakers.
Planned Thursday, Jan. 31, at The Otesaga, the summit will be able to accommodate about 200 people. To register, call 432-4500, extension 104, or email karen@otsegocc.com.
After announcing the original concept, the phone started ringing with suggested speakers, Chamber President Barbara Ann Heegan said in an interview a few minutes ago, and she kept adding speakers to ensure “a balanced agenda.”