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Home My WebLink About6.p. Letter of Intent for the Metropolitan Council Community Solar Subscriber Collaborative EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Meeting: July 7, 2015 AGENDA ITEM: Letter of Intent for the Metropolitan Council Community Solar Subscriber Collaborative AGENDA SECTION: Consent PREPARED BY: Jason Lindahl, Planner AGENDA NO. 6.p. ATTACHMENTS: Letter of Intent, Project Description, Process, & Timeline Information, Community Solar Garden Fact Sheet APPROVED BY: ddj RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to authorize the Mayor to execute the attached non- binding letter of intent to participate in the Metropolitan Council’s Community Solar Subscribers Collaborative Request for Proposals (RFP) process. SUMMARY In June the Metropolitan Council announced the formation of the Community Solar Subscribers Collaborative. This is a joint RFP process between the Metropolitan Council, the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin and Ramsey Counties to develop community solar gardens to which they and other interested local governments could subscribe. This group believes by working together, government entities gain an economy of scale in the solicitation process and attractiveness to developers resulting in better pricing and subscription terms. Staff recommends the City Council approve execution of the attached non-binding letter of intent to participate in this process. BACKGROUND Interested local governments must sign the attached non-binding letter of intent declaring their interest to participate by July 24th. The Metropolitan Council will then publish an RFP for developers to provide community solar garden subscriptions to the local governments that signed the letter of intent. A team of governmental participants from the core steering group selected by the Metropolitan Council will select a solar developer for the project based on qualifications, experience and price. In September, local governments that signed the letter of intent will be entered into a lottery for available solar gardens. Those selected through the lottery will have the first right of refusal to subscribe based on the pricing and terms established through the RFP process. In October, each local government selected through the lottery would then review and approve its own independent subscription agreement with the selected solar developer with the expectation of receiving bill credits from the solar garden during 2016. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the City Council approve execution of the attached non-binding letter of intent to participate in Community Solar Subscribers Collaborative led by the Metropolitan Council. Executing the letter of intent allows the city to participate in the RFP process and eventually review and approve a standalone community solar garden subscription agreement based on the pricing and terms established during the Community Solar Subscribers Collaborative RFP process. mncerts.org/solargardens/collaborative 6/3/2015 Community Solar Subscriber Collaborative: An Opportunity for Metro Area Local Governments Description: Community Solar Gardens create a new opportunity for local government entities to support clean energy, save on energy bills for public buildings and plants, and hedge against the future price volatility of electricity. The Community Solar Subscriber Collaborative is a joint effort for Metro area local governments to procure solar garden subscriptions from a single RFP process. By working together, government entities gain an economy of scale in the solicitation process (reducing the administrative burden to vet developers) and in attractiveness to developers, resulting in better pricing and subscription terms. The process below describes how the RFP will be issued and how local governments are able to procure solar garden subscriptions through this initiative. Process: 1. Letter of Intent: Interested local governments sign a non-binding letter of intent declaring their intent to subscribe, and attach to the letter a list of the premises and loads they are interested in subscribing. Interested entities must be willing to subscribe to at least 100kW of solar production (equivalent to 120,000 kWh annual consumption). 2. Joint Powers Agreement (Optional): Local governments requiring a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) to be signed according to their procurement policies may sign a community solar garden subscription-specific JPA. 3. Request for Proposals: The Metropolitan Council will publish an RFP for developers to provide community solar garden subscriptions to the local governments that signed a Letter of Intent. Developers’ proposals will include a list of the counties they can provide subscriptions to and how much capacity they have available for each county. 4. Developer Selection: A team of governmental participants from the core steering group and major subscribers, selected by the Council, will evaluate proposals received, ranking them according to qualifications, experience, and price. 5. Lottery Process: Local governments that signed a Letter of Intent will be entered into a lottery for available gardens. Local governments drawn in the lottery will have the first right of refusal to subscribe to the garden(s) for which they are drawn. mncerts.org/solargardens/collaborative 6/3/2015 6. Execute Subscription Agreement(s): In order to secure its subscription(s), each local government entity will need to execute its own Subscription Agreement(s) with the developer it is purchasing a subscription from. 7. Garden Approval Process: There is currently a long queue for community solar gardens to be approved by Xcel energy before they can be built. This process is expected to take 18-21 weeks after the initial application is submitted and may be longer as this is a new program in Minnesota and the number of garden applications has been much higher than expected. 8. Garden Construction: Construction of each garden can take from 1 to 6 months or longer depending on the permitting and process at the host site. 9. Energy Produced; Bill Credits Assigned: Once the garden is approved and built, it will begin producing solar energy, delivered to Xcel and credited to subscribing entities in the form of $/kWh bill credits. Timeline: Action Date RFP Published by Met Council Expected July 7th, 2015 Letters of Intent due to Met Council Due July 24th, 2015 Joint Powers Agreements signed (if deemed necessary by participating entities) Due July 24th, 2015 Proposals Due August 3rd, 2015 Selection and Ranking of Proposals August 2015 Lottery Process August-September 2015 Execute Subscription Agreements October 2015 Contact for Questions: Trevor Drake Project Coordinator Great Plains Institute 612-767-7291 tdrake@gpisd.net. Download documents, read frequent questions, and find more information online at mncerts.org/solargardens/collaborative Are you interested in going solar but unable to do so on your own?Perhaps you live in an apartment, have a shaded roof at home, or don’t have space at your organization. Now you can join a community solar garden installed near you! Community solar gardens are a simple way to go solar.You purchase an up-front subscription, then soak in the rays (much of Minnesota is as sunny as places like Houston, TX and Tallahassee, FL). WHAT IS A COMMUNITYSOLAR GARDEN? Q Who is it for & why would I do it? Community Solar Gardens are centrally-located solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that provide electricity to participating subscribers. Could it work for you? OTHERS YOU 2 Individual entities can subscribe to enough solar to cover up to 120% of their annual electricity usage 3 Each subscriber’s utility bill is credited with the electricity created by their share of the solar garden 1 Solar PV panels are installed in sunny locations to produce renewable electricity How does it work? Q SolarGardens.MnCERTs.org Learn more, ask questions & take action: C ERTs : M i nne sot ans b u ildi n g a clea n ene rgy fu t u re Q How much solar should I get? The amount of electricity you use each year helps you decide how much solar to get. Your solar garden subscription can cover up to 120% of your usage. A typical Minnesota home uses 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month. Remember: a more efﬁcient home means more cost-effective solar! SUBSCRIBERS: individual entities who get solar power FINANCE: sources of ﬁnancing for the project HOST SITE: location where solar garden is installed DEVELOPER: primary group organizing the solar garden UTILITY: electricity provider where solar garden is installed OUTREACH PARTNERS: groups that ﬁnd subscribers SITE ASSESSOR: expert that studies solar garden location INSTALLER: expert that installs the solar garden As a subscriber, you don't have to worry about every detail. See below for key players. Utility Bill Solar power production is shown and credited on the subscriber’s utility bill 4 kW of solar could provide half the electricity used by the typical MN home Solar Subscription JDNOSAJJMAMF A typical MN home uses 800 kWh each month, or 9,600 kWh each year Electricity Use See more details about utility programs and rules for community solar gardens on our website at SolarGardens.MnCERTs.org#Who. Q Who is involved in a project? * *