N.Y. General Municipal Law § 119-ff: Definitions

§ 119-ff. Definitions. For purposes of this article:

1. "Authority" means the New York state energy research and

development authority, as defined by subdivision two of section eighteen

hundred fifty-one of the public authorities law, or its successor.

2. "Credit support" means and includes direct loans, letters of

credit, loan guarantees, and insurance products; and the purchase of or

commitment to purchase, or the sale of or commitment to sell, debt

instruments, including subordinated securities.

3. "Energy audit" means a formal evaluation of the energy consumption

of a permanent building or structural improvement to real property,

conducted by a contractor certified by the authority, or certified by a

certifying entity approved by the authority for purposes of this

article, for the purpose of identifying appropriate energy efficiency

improvements that could be made to or incorporated into the construction

of the property. A municipal corporation may, by local law, provide for

the certification of such contractors based upon criteria at least as

stringent as the state-wide criteria for certification adopted by the

authority for purposes of this article.

4. "Energy efficiency improvement" means any improvement to real

property, whether as a component of the new construction of a building

or as the renovation or retrofitting of an existing building to reduce

energy consumption, such as window and door replacement, lighting,

caulking, weatherstripping, air sealing, insulation, and heating and

cooling system upgrades, and similar improvements, determined to be

cost-effective pursuant to criteria established by the authority.

However, "energy efficiency improvement" shall not include lighting

measures or household appliances that are not permanently fixed to real

property.

5. "Municipal corporation" means a county, town, city or village.

6. "Real property" means any property, an interest in which is or is

eligible to be recorded or registered on municipal land ownership

records by the possessor of such interest.

7. "Renewable energy system" means an energy generating system for the

generation of electric or thermal energy, to be used primarily at such

property, except when the owner of real property is a commercial entity,

by means of solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, geothermal,

anaerobic digester gas-to-electricity systems, fuel cell technologies,

or other renewable energy technology approved by the authority not

including the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste.

8. "Renewable energy system feasibility study" means a written study,

conducted by a contractor certified by the authority, or certified by a

certifying entity approved by the authority for purposes of this

article, for the purpose of determining the feasibility of installing a

renewable energy system. A municipal corporation may, by local law,

provide for the certification of such contractors based upon criteria at

least as stringent as the state-wide criteria for certification adopted

by the authority for purposes of this article.