EQECM 09/10/2013
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION
Fridley Municipal Center, 6431 University Ave Ne
Agenda Packet
Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 7:00 p.m.
Minutes
Conference Room A (Main Level)
Location:
Call to Order
Chairperson Velin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Commission members present: Chairperson Velin, Commissioner Eric
Boyles, Commissioner Sam Stoxen
Signed in observers: Residents, Pam Reynolds, Amber Halstad; Interested Parties, Solid
Waste topic: Mike Berkopec (Ace Solid Waste), Christopher J. DeLaForest (DeLaForest
Consulting, LLC), George Walter (Walters Recyling), and one additional individual.
Approval of Environmental Quality and Energy Commission Minutes: July 07, 2013 not
done as a quorum not present.
New Business
Report from League of Minnesota Cities seminar: Solar Use for Minnesota Cities
City Staff Environmental Qualley presented the following information about the League
presentation:
Date: September 10, 2013
Report on League of Minnesota Cities Solar Seminar
The event was a workshop, presented by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Solar
Outreach Partnership, the Mn Department of Commerce, the Met Council and Minnesota
GreenStep Cities. The goal was to provide actionable information on creating a local-level
solar program in the Twin Cities area. An informal poll of the participants showed that most
individuals represented cities, chiefly planning departments and of these cities about 2/3 had
attained Minnesota GreenStep Cities status. To review the Minnesota Policy Framework (be
aware that new legislation is coming), see 500.30 and 462.357 in Minnesota Code.
Areas of focus included (per the earlier email), an overview of solar technology and why it is
viable for the Minneapolis–St Paul region; planning and zoning for solar; and innovative
financing options for solar projects. Interestingly, German far outstrips the U.S. in solar use
and effectiveness with it and yet has solar light capacity similar to Juneau, AK! Germany
treats solar residential as an appliance, not a utility. It has standardized the process to
streamline purchasing and installation. Minnesota will be ramping up efforts in solar
production significantly. Thrive MSP 2040 will come out soon discussing climate change
and more solar will be addressed in this report.
Case study examples from the City of Falcon Heights Municipal building solar project, City
of Rosemount and the Met Council were presented. The City of Rosemount has general
sustainability goals. A Falcon Heights municipal project is providing 2/3 of the building
power by solar now. They installed 232 panels, which cost $321 each.
Jason Willett, Finance & Energy Director of the Environmental Services Division of Met
Council stated that a major attractive feature for them was that Solar uses little or no Water to
produce energy and that water consumption/use is increasingly a problem. One site that has
excess land around a facility that Met Council wants buffered (to keep people away) will be
used as a larger scale solar facility, instead of, for instance, just mowing an area as lawn. The
Met Council sent out an RFP for the project and Oak Leaf Energy Partners was successful in
obtaining the RFP.
The point was made that early barriers to the use of solar panel were the high capital cost but
panel prices dropped 75% since then. The PPA helps procure Federal Solar Tax Benefits.
Solar should be developed in your community in a consistent manner to create Solar-friendly
Minnesota cities. Setting clear and predictable goals for adding solar to the mix (MN Solar
Challenge) of energy should be part of a city’s planning efforts.
The solar equation: Installed costs of solar vs. avoided energy costs of other types;
equipment maintenance is low on solar; excess generation of electricity, where does this
capacity go?; are there direct incentives for homeowners to use solar?; what about a
neighborhood initiative?.
Other essential information can be found at the American Planning Association under
Planning and Zoning for Solar Energy and freeingthegrid.org
Overall, the suggestion was to pave the way to becoming a Solar Friendly Minnesota City by
the following:
1) Have a Comprehensive Plan that addresses Solar as a Resource. Prepare a Checklist of
Solar Development Benefits. The City of Fridley 2030 Plan under Chapter 3, Land Use
states in Section 3.7 Solar Access Protection that the City permits and allows the integration
of solar energy devices in current City Code. In 2015, System Statements will be due to Met
Council and Comp. Plan updates will be due in 2018 and should include an increasingly
presence for solar. Strategies to grow your solar market should be developed since the costs
have dropped 52% in 2 years for overall solar.
2) Develop regulations that explicitly address solar development initiatives and its variations.
Make sure that you have points in your solar ordinance about minimizing visibility, height,
lot coverage, set-back limits, etc. The ordinance should cover public health, safety and
welfare as well as provide a consideration of neighborhood character.
3) Develop fact sheets and guidelines to provide information for Solar Best Management
Practices. In other words, get your community “solar ready”. An example of this is to
require builders to group roof top equipment (e.g. HVAC) to leave enough space for solar.
Don’t forget to plan the roof for structural weight load (note: the City of Falcon Heights
municipal system does not penetrate the roof. Some additional technical reports are available
on solarabcs.org.
4) Streamline the Permitting Process. German model has a 2-page form country-wide.
Make sure that the permit requirements are clear and that forms are available at the city and
on line, and that permit fees and time frames to obtain the permit are appropriate (fair and
flat!). Train inspectors/permit personnel so that Best Practice Goals are known. The seminar
recommends that fees for solar projects appropriately reflect the staff time necessary to
process and possibly, that performance bonds or cleanup bonds could be useful. A sample
permit application can be seen on solar consultant Brian Ross’ website or mn.gov/commerce
or under Green Step Best Practices sites. Small systems are often permitted as an accessory
use.
For Fridley, the regular Building Permit is used like any other project and an electrical permit
is also needed. Inspection takes place similar to other projects. The City has had one
application and installation in recent memory, executed by a Maple Grove firm.
5) Create community workshops that are aimed at reducing your overall energy use as a
community. The suggestion being, though to move well beyond the low-hanging fruit of
lighting replacement and plan for projects with longer payback horizons which will also be
impactful.
6) Prepare a “Value of Solar” pricing statement that includes environmental costs.
Bill Grant, Deputy Commissioner of Energy and Telecommunications, MN Dept. of
Commerce mentioned that cities should investigate their Guaranteed Energy Financing
Program. Other granting programs mentioned were the Clean Energy Resource Teams RFP
th
for 2014 Seed Grants, due Oct. 18, the website is RFP.MnCERTs.org.
It was mentioned that Excel Energy has a new grant program for solar coming out in 2014.
Solar Rewards will be replaced by this new program after 2014 to move toward 10 year
performance-based incentives.
Overall, several styles of solar ownership and related agreements such as direct, third-party,
Community ownership, Bond-PPA hybrids and more are available-although not all in all
markets.
Big utilities in Minnesota will have to use 5% solar by 2020 and 10% by 2030. Overall we
will ramp up to 400 MWatts by 2020.
Low Impact Development Seminar information
Staff reported that the International Low Impact Development Seminar was held in St. Paul
this year. The seminar featured educational, civil engineering, new designs for stormwater
removal and many other tracks. Environmental Planner Qualley attended for the city and
gave a brief summary of some of the new and returning technology like underground cisterns
that were part of the trade fair associated with the presentations. The Commission would like
the link to the seminars when it is available.
Energy topics and opportunities
Discussion about whether the EQEC should coordinate and disseminate the energy
information it gleans in the next meeting to residents through a vehicle like an Energy and
Environmental Fair. Informal discussion led by Commissioners Boyles and Stoxen indicated
a willingness to actively participate and work at this fair. It was suggested that Excel Energy
might have a booth.
New homeowner and first time home buyer Ms. Halstad stated that this would be valuable to
her as she didn’t know where to look for information and gathering this information in one
location would be great. The HRA was requested to be a part of the Fair.
A report by Staff regarding the Municipal Center energy audit was as follows: Jeannie
Benson, certified building operator states that the city is in year 5 of an 8 year plan. The city
had an independent energy audit and has changed out the lights in the main building and
added LED lighting in the police garage. These changes save the City over $20,000
annually.
Other
Raingardens at Commons Park.
The east end of the parking lot has been excavated and shredded bark laid down in
preparation for plantings. A meeting with parks, engineering, recreation and planning was
held to discuss a planting plan.
Old Business
Organized garbage collection
Discussion and recommendation for Council, Organized Garbage collection next steps,
tabled due to no quorum. Observers (as above) asked some questions about the research and
whether this was a City of Fridley study. Ms. Reynolds stated that government should stay
out of private business. Commissioner Boyles asked that a bibliography of research on road
impacts of garbage trucks be sent out for review. The Nov. 12 EQEC meeting will see a
return of this topic.
Next Meetings/Announcements
Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 7 p.m., Conference Room A (Main Level)
Adjourn
No MOTION to adjourn was asked for by Chairperson Velin and the meeting ended at 8:08.
Respectfully submitted,
Kay M. Qualley
Environmental Planner
City of Fridley