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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1-13-15 Meeting Minutes Bozeman Climate Partners Communications Working Group Meeting Minutes January 13, 2015, 2:30pm, 121 N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman City Hall, Madison Room Members Attending: Marshall Swearingen, Cyndy Andrus (Commission Liaison), Kristen Walser, Jay Sinnott, Kathy Powell, Heather Higinbotham, Natalie Meyer (Staff Liaison), Joan Montagne, Susan Bilo, Wendy Weaver 1) Call to Order -2:30pm 2) Changes to the Agenda – none 3) Public Comment- none 4) Minutes – 12/17/14 minutes deferred 5) Action Items a) City of Bozeman Community Solar Project (Swearingen) i) The Bozeman Community Solar second draft was distributed to the working group. Swearingen outlined some of the changes and explained that he planned to distribute it to the Legislature committee members. Bilo asked if the League of Cities was involved. Meyer thought it would be too late to request their formal support since they set their priorities months in advance of the session. Walser mentioned that they need people to testify for the green schools legislation. Meyer suggested the group sign up for Legislative alerts and would send out the link to enroll. ii) Powell provided additional revisions on the Community Solar document, including a discussion on whether “policy framework” adequately served as a catch-all for the obstacles to community solar. iii) Andrus encouraged us to consider who is on the committee when submitting comment iv) Weaver asked who to approach about starting a community solar project and how the projects are financed. Bilo summarized the ownership models that were detailed in the Bozeman Community Solar document. v) The group discussed the proposed cap of 1MW in the legislation. Bilo indicated that the cap was selected by MREA based on member feedback. Andrus asked if something less would be adequate. Meyer suggested that 500kW would be a great success and would encourage 3rd party investment. vi) Sinnott made the motion: I move to endorse the document, “Bozeman Community Solar: Local potential for subscriber-based solar arrays” to the Bozeman City Commission. Motion passed unanimously. vii) Meyer read comment she received from Scott Bischke regarding the focus of the Bozeman Community Solar document. Bischke was interested in seeing alternative approaches to local distributed energy, such as battery back-up, community choice aggregation, or power purchase agreements, should the Legislature fail to lift the generation cap and allow for community solar. Bilo indicated that should the Legislature fail to act, MREA would continue to educate and reach out to our communities on the importance of distributed renewable energy. The priorities outlined in Local Energy Investment Act are critical and need to be addressed first. viii) Group again discussed transmission and distribution arguments against net metering. ix) Montagne made the motion: I move to endorse the Bozeman City Commission’s adopted 2015 Legislative priority to increase flexibility in Montana’s Net Metering Law through the Local Energy Investment Act. x) Bilo asked if we needed to amend the motion to include all the specific bills addressing net metering. Meyer did not think it was necessary because the Commission’s Legislative Priority list specifically outlined the goals addressed in each bill. xi) The original motion was unanimously approved. xii) Bilo said that in-person testimony from the city at the Legislature would be useful. Powell asked if any businesses would be testifying. Meyer and Bilo indicated that solar and wind installers would be testifying and that businesses that have bumped up against the 50kW will be giving testimony. b) Non-Action Items i) Summit Affordable Housing Development Update (1) Meyer and other city staff had a conference call with the developer of the Stoneridge Apartments and the HRDC. Staff shared our sustainability goals and asked the developer questions related to energy, water, and storm water management. The developer and the HRDC seemed receptive to the conversation around sustainability. After further research and discussion, staff is considering recommending that the development should achieve certification under the Enterprise Green Communities program. This is a certification program similar to LEED, but is specific to affordable housing. (2) Bilo indicated that she would review the program and provide feedback. (3) Andrus is concerned about the issue of affordable housing and is considering what types of incentives can be offered to developers to build more affordable housing. Deferred impact fees and impact fee credits are possibilities. (4) The group discussed the need for a culture change related to energy efficiency in buildings. We need children to ask their parents about the Energy Use Intensity of buildings. ii) 2015 Sustainability Priorities (1) Meyer reviewed her 2014 priority list with the group and gave a brief status update on each item. Meyer feels the 2015 priority list should be updated, but the primary goals will not change dramatically because most of the programs are still being established. In relation to the Commission Priorities, Andrus asked if there is anything that is urgent that cannot be accomplished without getting it on the Commission’s Priority List. She sees sustainability as an ongoing priority that we will continue to work on, but she does not necessarily expect to see any of our goals on the Commission’s Priority List. Meyer concurred, but would like to see continued emphasis placed on establishing a design standard for LEDs. (2) Others suggested that we need to address barriers to on-site solar. The example of Block M blocking solar access to the neighbors to the north was mentioned. (3) Sinnott suggested more emphasis on a transportation initiative with the update of the transportation plan. He would like to see more roundabouts and more public education. Meyer said that more roundabouts are in the works. c) FYI/Discussion i) Heather gave an update on the Bozeman Energy Project & Energy Smackdown (1) YTCEC Sustainability Series, Energy Efficiency and the Bozeman Energy Project will be the topic on Thursday, February 26th at 5:30pm at Wild Joe’s Coffee House. d) Adjournment i) Meyer had to adjourn at 4:00 for another meeting. ii) The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 9:00am.