East Hampton - Congressman Bishop announced that the Village of East Hampton has been awarded $281,034 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

"I am pleased that the Village of East Hampton has received this funding to install a photovoltaic system," said Bishop. "This type of clean energy will not only help to reduce the cost of energy for the village, but it is also vital to freeing the country from the cost and uncertainties surrounding energy supplies from politically volatile regions."

"The NYSERDA grant will enable the Village of East Hampton to install this 48 kW solar electric system in one year, a project that would otherwise would have taken the village four years to fund," said Paul Rickenbach, Mayor, Village of East Hampton.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Francis J. Murray, Jr., said: "Thanks to the leadership of Congressman Bishop and the entire New York Congressional Delegation, the federal stimulus program is providing critical funding to help local governments, hospitals, colleges and universities, and non-profit agencies reduce their energy costs while helping New York reduce its overall energy consumption and our impact on the environment. The energy conservation measures this funding supports will help create jobs and make meaningful progress towards meeting Governor David Paterson's ambitious energy reduction goals. NYSERDA looks forward to working with the award recipients to help them achieve the greatest savings possible."

Photovoltaic systems generate electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into electricity. The energy conservation from this project will help reduce energy consumption on Long Island and is estimated to save the Village of East Hampton $600,000 in energy costs over the next 30 years. The Recovery Act, for which Congressman Bishop is proud to have voted, was intended to create jobs and improve the country's economic stability. Economists estimate that the Recovery Act is responsible for the jobs of about two million Americans who would otherwise be unemployed.

NYSERDA received more than 300 proposals and evaluated on a competitive basis. Primary selection criteria included technical viability, cost-effectiveness, demonstration of compliance with program requirements, and cost sharing. Each awardee must still successfully enter into contract and meet all ARRA requirements prior to funding being released.