Croton’s Sustainability Committee met Sunday to confront a pair of frustrating infrastructure delays, even as the village notched a major emissions milestone by transitioning its entire municipal diesel fleet to renewable fuel. The most pressing concern was the stalled DPW solar canopy project. The Village Board had already accepted a bid from Rivertown Solar for the approximately $300,000 installation, which is fully funded by a grant. However, the project has stalled again because the contractor has repeatedly failed to provide required paperwork. Committee members expressed frustration but held out hope of completing the installation by Labor Day. Meanwhile, the village’s battery energy storage system (BESS) 2.0 project at Municipal Place is back on track after Luminace submitted a modified proposal on January 27 accepting changes to the site access easement. To maximize the site’s potential megawatt capacity, Village Trustee Len Simon and Mayor Brian Pugh discussed a plan to relocate the village salt shed to Westchester County’s Croton Point Park storage site. Moving the salt shed would free up space currently used for seasonal yard waste, while also resolving a water contamination issue at the existing shed location. A Letter of Intent to lock in 5 MW of hosting capacity is being drafted ahead of a Zoom meeting with village officials before next month’s session. On a brighter note, the committee highlighted the village’s switch to renewable diesel across all 18 heavy-duty diesel vehicles, including garbage trucks and snow plows. The transition reduces the village’s carbon footprint by 186 metric tons of CO2 annually—a 12.5% reduction—without any taxpayer cost. The fuel is paid for through the village’s sustainability fund, which is capitalized by revenue from the community solar array on the DPW building. Residents will soon have a chance to participate in the food scrap recycling program, which is opening to all interested villagers following the delivery of two new collection toters on February 19. Announcements will go out via village newsletters and local media. The committee also took a first look at "balcony solar" systems—plug-in solar panels limited to 1.2 kilowatts under proposed state law. Dan Columbini raised fire and electrical code concerns, and new resident Corey Cummings volunteered to research the issue for next month’s meeting. The next Sustainability Committee meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 22 at 10:00 AM via Zoom. The Croton Advisory Council’s Repair Café will be held this Saturday, February 28, at 11:00 AM at the Croton Library.