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New York Energy Resource Bureau
An independent homeowner guide to NY energy incentives
Source quality: Mixed

Orleans County

County or city: Orleans County, NY Utility territory: National Grid (upstate electric) and National Fuel Gas (natural gas across Western New York) Verified: May 27, 2026 Source quality: Mixed — utility framing is well-sourced; county-specific residential energy programming is sparse in primary sources.

What programs apply here

Orleans County runs along the Lake Ontario shore between Niagara and Monroe counties, with Albion as the county seat and Erie Canal heritage shaping much of the housing stock. The Canal corridor towns hold a lot of older homes with limited insulation; the lakeshore towns deal with wind exposure that drives infiltration load. The utility layer is National Grid electric and National Fuel Gas residential gas, same as the rest of the WNY interior. From an Albion, Medina, Holley, or Lyndonville address you can apply for:

  • NY-Sun: the state's upfront solar incentive. Orleans County is in the upstate block.
  • NY-Sun Community Solar: subscriptions for roofs that don't work for a rooftop system, or for renters. Bill credits appear on the National Grid statement.
  • NY State Solar Tax Credit: 25% state income tax credit on solar cost.
  • NY State Geothermal Credit: 25% state income tax credit on ground-source heat pump installs.
  • NYS Clean Heat: heat pump rebates delivered through National Grid.
  • Comfort Home: flat per-measure insulation and air sealing incentives — often the right starting point for the older Canal-era housing stock.
  • EmPower+: income-qualified weatherization and electrification; the primary delivery channel for federal HEAR rebates in New York.
  • Solar for All: monthly bill credit for income-eligible National Grid customers on a participating community solar subscription.
  • National Grid Rebates: the upstate electric rebate menu — heat pumps via Clean Heat, smart thermostats via ConnectedSolutions, Weatherization Health and Safety, and a renters' rebate track.

Natural gas rebates are not National Grid in Orleans County. National Fuel Gas runs a separate Conservation Incentive Program for residential gas customers in Western New York, with rebates for high-efficiency furnaces, boilers, water heaters, and a WeatherWise track for envelope work. The 2026 program-year deadline is March 31, 2027. Note that gas service is not universal in Orleans County; many rural and lakeshore parcels are on propane or fuel oil rather than piped gas, which changes the relevant utility programs.

What stacks at this address

  • Comfort Home + National Fuel WeatherWise (gas-served homes). For homes on National Fuel gas, both programs can be applied to the same insulation and air sealing scope. The contractor should reconcile the measure list with both before signing.
  • Clean Heat for whole-home electrification (off-gas or propane homes). Lakeshore and rural parcels on propane or fuel oil are strong candidates for whole-home heat pump electrification. Clean Heat pays the highest tier when the install removes a fossil-fuel heating system; combined with Comfort Home envelope work, this is often the most cost-effective path off propane.
  • NY-Sun + NY State Solar Tax Credit. Standard upstate solar stack. The tax credit is computed on net cost after the NY-Sun rebate.
  • Geothermal Clean Heat + state geothermal credit. Ground-source installs qualify for both; air-source installs do not qualify for the geothermal credit.
  • EmPower+ + HEAR. Income-qualified Orleans County households apply once through EmPower+ and the same intake routes federal HEAR funding where eligible.

County or city programs unique to here

Orleans County does not run a county-administered cash rebate program for residential energy upgrades. The county economy is small enough that most local-layer support flows through state-funded regional entities rather than a county energy office:

  • WNY Regional Clean Energy Hub, operated by PUSH Buffalo. Although Orleans County is not in the Hub's primary five-county footprint (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara), Hub Energy Advisors will often field calls from adjacent counties. For an Orleans County household, the more directly relevant statewide resource is the NYSERDA Energy Advisor program through nyserda.ny.gov.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County. Runs agricultural and residential energy outreach, particularly relevant on the farm parcels common in the southern half of the county.

Who to call locally

  • Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County: (585) 798-4265. Useful for contractor referrals and rural energy questions.
  • Orleans County Department of Planning and Development: (585) 589-3197. County-level coordination for planning, permitting, and economic development tie-ins.
  • National Grid residential customer service: the Clean Heat rebate finder returns address-specific heat pump amounts. Other rebate tracks run through National Grid directly.
  • National Fuel Gas residential rebates: fuelingtomorrowtoday.com runs the Conservation Incentive Program intake.

Climate Smart Communities status

Orleans County is not currently listed as a certified Climate Smart Community at the county level. Individual municipalities may be registered participants; status is municipality-specific. Verify your specific town's current status with the NYS DEC Climate Smart Communities list before citing it in dated material.

Important local dates

  • National Fuel Gas Conservation Incentive Program: 2026 program-year applications are due March 31, 2027.
  • National Grid Clean Heat amounts and ConnectedSolutions enrollment caps are reset on the utility's energy efficiency program cycle filed with the New York Public Service Commission. Mid-year budget exhaustion has happened in prior years.
  • Comfort Home per-measure amounts are adjusted on NYSERDA's program cycle; no fixed end date for Orleans County participation as of May 27, 2026.

Source

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with Orleans County, NYSERDA, the State of New York, or any utility. Verify all program details and incentive amounts directly with the relevant program administrator before making any financial decision.

Verified against orleanscountyny.gov, www.nationalgridus.com, climatesmart.ny.gov on May 27, 2026.

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