Albany

National Grid announced last month that it is giving two grants totaling $1 million to SUNY Polytechnic Institute for its new 356,000-square-foot ZEN building.

The money will go a long way to help launch a new renewable energy "test bed" at SUNY Poly including a 2-megawatt solar farm that is planned for the school's Fuller Road campus.

But the investment will also help give National Grid invaluable experience in learning how to integrate renewable energy into the electrical grid which will be critical under a new regulatory framework being adopted by state utility regulators.

"Strategic partnerships like the one between National Grid and SUNY Poly CNSE are critical to creating new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century," Kenneth Daly, president of National Grid New York, said last month at the annual meeting of iClean, a clean-tech incubator at SUNY Poly that was funded by NYSERDA, the state's energy development agency.

Part of what Daly was referring to is Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reform of the utility markets in the state, otherwise known as REV (Reforming the Energy Vision).

The first phase of REV was adopted late last month by the state Public Service Commission. Under REV, utilities like National Grid would open up the electrical grid to more widespread use of renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and hydrogen-powered fuel cells, as well as other consumer-oriented services and products that would allow homeowners to have more control over their energy usage. The integration would be market-based, meaning that there would be incentives for both consumers and the utility to put renewable energy generation where it is most needed on the grid.

"We need to be prepared to utilize more and more renewables onto our system," Daly told the Times Union in a recent interview. "They (SUNY Poly) are creating an ecosystem for this convergence."

One of the National Grid grants will be for $250,000 to create a new incubator grant program called Integrated Solutions for PV Installations for Rooftop Energy, or INSPIRE. That will allow iClean members to get access to renewable energy testing facilities at ZEN (Zero Energy Nano) so that they can create new products and services that could one day be sold onto the electrical grid. PV stands for photovoltaic, which is solar electric technology.

The other $750,000 grant will go to pay for the design of the new renewable energy test bed at ZEN, known as the Smart Energy Test Facility. Those facilities will generate the electricity for ZEN, which, when completed this summer, will be the world's largest "zero energy" building, meaning it generates more electricity than it uses. The biggest part of the test bed will be the 2-megawatt solar farm, which is expected to be "highly visible" on the SUNY Poly campus, according to Pradeep Haldar, head of clean energy programs at the institute.

See more here:
National Grid gives grants for SUNY ZEN building

WATERLOO -- The Cedar Bend Humane Society is offering a Zen Doodle from 6 to 8 p.m. April 14 in the CBHS adoption center at 1166 W. Airline Highway.

Zen Doodling, also known as ZenTangle, is an art form combining simple and complex lines into structured patterns. No experience is necessary. The art form is easy to learn and apply.

Class instructor is Carrie Worthington, and the $25 fee goes back to support homeless pets. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

Refreshments and art supplies provided. Participants are asked to provide a headshot of their pet prior to the class. At the end of class, participants will have a good start on a piece of artwork of their pet.

For more information on the class and to register, go to http://www.CedarBendHumane.org.

Read more:
Humane society to offer Zen Doodle

Tredyffrin Township police and the Chester County Sheriff's Office conducted a canine sniff of Conestoga High School. The sniff was the first of this school year, according to school officials.

The search, announced through the schools public address system, was conducted while the school was placed under lockdown status. Classes continued during the lockdown as three dogs, their handlers, Conestoga administrators and law enforcement checked the school.

According to a press release, the canines alerted officers at six lockers. When the lockers and adjacent lockers were searched, police said, no illegal substances were found.

The sniff excercise, which lasted 75 minutes, is part of the districts goal to work through its safety comittee and the larger community to be the "provision of a safe and drug free environment for students," according to the release.

The search, announced through the schools public address system, was conducted while the school was placed under lockdown status. Classes continued during the lockdown as three dogs, their handlers, Conestoga administrators and law enforcement checked the school.

According to a press release, the canines alerted officers at six lockers. When the lockers and adjacent lockers were searched, police said, no illegal substances were found.

The sniff excercise, which lasted 75 minutes, is part of the districts goal to work through its safety comittee and the larger community to be the "provision of a safe and drug free environment for students," according to the release.

See the original post here:
K-9 sniff conducted at Conestoga High School

Hundreds of Collins Garden Elementary School students got a personal pep talk about fitness from San Antonio-based firefighters, police officers, military veterans and other government representatives as part of the citys Heroes for Health program.

The initiative, organized by the Bexar County School Boards Coalition, was introduced at public elementary schools in the county March 19, bringing a variety of servicemen and women together with government and health officials who helped lead students in an interactive series of exercises.

Collins Garden, according to Mayors Leadership Council member Jeff Skelton, was a great example of just how much support the program gathered this year.

On a day like this, were not only promoting health and fitness but bringing our heroes out to be great leaders for these kids, Skelton said. They look up to these firefighters, these military (members), these police officers, and to see these leaders encouraging healthy behavior to these kids, it really goes a long way.

Not many initiatives bring together this many school districts, Skelton added.

Every school district is partnering on this thats really unique, he explained. When you look at that, and also the support of the military, our firefighters, and our (other) heroes to come out and basically give the one simple message to our community to exercise, to eat their fruits and vegetables, and to drink more water. Its simple, but having them (here) makes a big difference.

One of those heroes was Navy Hospital Foreman Linda Villalobos, who went to Collins Garden as a kid, graduated from Burbank High school and has served in the Armed Forces for 23 years. Villalobos said she joined the Heroes for Health platform to help encourage kids from her neighborhood to stay on track toward a healthy adulthood.

I try not to use the word exercise people dont really like that word because it seems like work, Villalobos noted. Just go out there and do some kind of activity with your friends and have fun.

Collins Garden physical education teacher Roxanne Sarabia has taught at the school for about nine years. Shes spent much of her time at the school helping organize fitness clubs for students as motivation to eat healthy and play safely throughout the school year. Having the Heroes for Health lineup of role models was a boost to what she teaches, Sarabia said.

We always talk to them about how, no matter what profession you are, if youre healthy, youre going to be successful, she said.

See the article here:
Heroes for Health a hit at Collins Garden