EQC Meeting Date: January 20, 2021
To: Members of the Environmental Quality Commission
From: Beth Kallestad, Program Coordinator
Title
Staff Update
Body
Action Requested:
The EQC receives update from staff.
Summary Report:
Staff Report
* Site visits for Request for Information regarding on-site solar on City owned properties took place on January 7, 2021. Proposals are due by January 21, 2021. The information provided will help the City determine if we install on-site solar and if so what funding mechanism - direct ownership or power purchase agreement.
* Grow Solar Rice County community bulk solar campaign in collaboration with Faribault and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association has hit a snag with regard to concerns over interconnection/upgrade fees. We are exploring options to work around this for the short term.
* B3 data automation is mostly working. We learned that the community solar garden billing/credits will need to be entered manually. This is fixable and will just take some time to get past data entered.
* Fleet Study to assess potential for EVs is complete. Staff will meet with consultants on January 19 for presentation. Some vehicles show high potential for EVs, some others such as trucks may be a few years out. Some need review with regard to usage/utilization.
* Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), Northfield and Red Wing will be hosting a webinar on January 27th from 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM Clean Energy Project Financing Tools
* City Council adopted implementation of a Franchise Fee on Xcel Energy which the utility will pass on to all electric and gas customers. The fee will be a flat rate per month based on categories of usage type (residential, commercial, etc.) Learn more at: https://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/1393/Franchise-Fees
As part of the resolution language, 8% of the fees collected, not more than $100,000/year will be used for Climate Action Plan Implementation efforts. The City won't start to receive income on t...
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