Uniondale, NY - April 26, 2016 - PSEG Long Island, in partnership with New York State Urban Forestry Council and the Arbor Day Foundation, provided 1,000 of its customers with a free tree through the Energy-Saving Trees program. Designed to conserve energy through strategic planting, the program will help PSEG Long Island customers save up to 20 percent on their summer energy bills once the trees are full grown, while also improving air quality and reducing storm water run-off for all residents across the company’s service territory.
“The Energy-Saving Trees program brings multiple benefits to Long Island, helping our customers save money on their energy bills and helping to improve the environment,” said Michael Voltz, Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables, PSEG Long Island. “The program also helps our customers better understand how the right trees in the right location can reduce their utility bills and promote ongoing system reliability.”
PSEG Long Island customers reserved their free trees at here, an online tool that helps customers estimate the annual energy savings that will result from planting trees in the most strategic location near their homes or businesses. All customers that participated will receive one tree and are expected to care for and plant them in the location provided by the online tool, taking into account utility wires and obstructions. The types of trees offered include the following: Black Tupelo, Eastern Redbud, Black Tupelo, Scarlet Oak, and American Linden.
The program was launched on April 6, 2016 and ran for approximately three weeks, with all 1,000 trees reserved for customers across the PSEG Long Island service territory. Four distribution sites were established at PSEG Long Island offices in Roslyn, Hicksville, Brentwood and Riverhead, for customers to claim their trees on April 30, 2016.
“Energy savings is just one of the many benefits that trees provide,” said David Moore, President of the NYS Urban Forestry Council. “We hope this program will not only save folks money on their power bills, but also help beautify their homes and enrich the local environment.”
The 1,000 trees are estimated to produce more than 1,531,357 kWh in energy savings within 20 years.
Mary Kramarchyk, New York State Urban Forestry Program Manager said, “Planting trees for energy conservation is a priority of the urban forestry program throughout New York State. This project is a small step toward restoring the canopy lost to recent storms and to neighborhoods with very low tree cover.”
The “Energy-Saving Trees” online tool was created by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Davey Institute, a division of Davey Tree Expert Co., and uses peer-reviewed scientific research from the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree software to calculate estimated benefits. In addition to providing approximate energy savings, the tool also estimates the trees’ other benefits, including cleaner air, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and improved storm water management.
SEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a 12-year contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of approximately $10.4 billion.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org, or by visiting us on Facebook, Twitter or blog.