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“The Nanuet Fire department is the sixth oldest department in Rockland County and is 100 percent volunteer," said Senator Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester). "By building a new fire department and purchasing solar panels, we will dramatically increase the proficiency of how their energy is consumed and this not only substantially benefits the department, but the environment as well."
Construction is currently underway for the firehouse at 29 Old Middletown Road. Completion is expected in June 2017.
“We thank Senator Carlucci for securing the funding for this project because without it, the setbacks would have made purchasing the solar panels impossible," said Commissioner, Vincent Pacella. "We look forward to showing everyone the progress we make as the project moves forward."
Conduits are in place and control panels have been installed for the solar panels, which will be purchased with money from the grant.
The panels are expected to pay for themselves over 15 years, and the department will be able to sell power back to Orange and Rockland Utilities.
“We faced a major setback before even being able to break ground," said Commissioner, Harold Straut. "The soil where the construction was set to begin was contaminated. An old oil tank from what we believe dated back to before World War II was found buried and cut open. This forced us to remove the soil, send it by truck to be disposed of in Massachusetts and bring in new soil before the construction could even begin. We are still confident that in the long run, we will be saving a significant amount of money thanks to our energy efficiency plan."
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