EQC Meeting Date: November 20th, 2024
To: Environmental Quality Commission
From: Risi Karim, Assistant to the City Administrator / Staff Liaison
Title
Staff Update.
Body
Action Requested:
The EQC receives an update regarding staff activities.
Summary Report:
This update includes items not included as agenda items for this meeting.
* Solar Rooftop Project: Northfield Community Resource Center
On October 28th, the City of Northfield received conditional approval for a $72,000 grant from the MN State Solar on Public Buildings Program for a solar rooftop installation at the Northfield Community Resource Center. To release the funds and finalize the grant, the State required a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the utility provider, Xcel Energy, confirming there were no anticipated issues with interconnection. However, on October 30th, after reviewing the MOU and the project's proposed location, Xcel Energy identified significant capacity constraints on the feeder serving the area and declined to sign the MOU, citing foreseeable interconnection issues that would require substantial distribution upgrades. When the city initially assessed the project in May and reached out to Xcel about connection, there were no anticipated capacity constraints. However, large solar projects submitted applications in July and August, reducing the available capacity on feeder DND071, which, as of September/October 2024, is now constrained and unable to support the proposed 40kW system at the community center. Xcel Energy is working on redistributing the load to a third feeder to alleviate pressure on the system, though no timeline is available. Additionally, a request for a new substation in Northfield is pending approval, with potential construction slated to start in 2029 or 2030. Unfortunately, this long-term project will not address the current capacity issue impacting this grant cycle. The City of Northfield may still pursue an interconnection application, though ...
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