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A-3. Authorizing Staff to Submit Letter of Intent for Participation in the Metro Community Solar Garden Collaborative, � -� � �� ,. MEMORANDUM C�� TO: Mayor & City Council Cu��u�C�� FROM: Greg Sticha, Finance Director �� i 11tllI litl►J ��: 7700 Markel Boulevard DATE• June 22, 2015 �• PO Qox 147 • Chanhassen,MN 55317 SUBJ: Authorizing Staff to Submit Letter of Intent for Participation i�l the Metro Commuiuty Solar Garden Collaborative Atlministratior� Phone:952.227.1100 Fax:952.227.1110 PROPOSED MOTION Building Inspectio�� "The City Council approves a resolution authorizing staff to sign a letter of Phone:952.227.118o intent to participate in the RFP process of the Metro Commuiuty Solai- Fax:952.227.1190 Garden Collaborative." Enyineering Phone:952.227.116o Approval of this item requires a simple majority vote of the City Council. Fax:952.227.1170 C=in�Anc� BACKGROUND Phone:952.227.1140 Fax:952.227.1110 In the past week, staff became aware of the Metro Cormnunity Solar Garden Collaborative. The project is an initiative headed by the Metropolitan Council E��rRt��ccwGa�i�ru with assistance from the Great Plains Institute. They are atteinpting to use the Phone:952.227.112o collaborative purchasing power of local units of government to solicit bids Fax:952.22�.1110 �]u-ough an RFP process for the creation of Community Solar Gardens and I;ecr��inn C��it�;� subscriber agreements with participating local governments. 2310 Coulter Boulevard Phone 952.227.1400 By harnessing the purchasing power of lnany local government units, it inay be Fax:952227.1404 possible for the creation of community solar gardens that can be financially advantageous to participating members. The process first includes those local B�lannin�>�?� government units that have an interest and submit a letter of intent to the Na4u�al Resoiu�cc� Phone:952.227.113o prograin administrator(Great Plains Institute- due July 24, 2015). The RFP has Fax:952.227.1110 already been created and sent to potential developers for submission of bids for creation of Coininunity Solar Gardens in the seven county metro area and '��9��ic r��a�gf� contiguous couilties. Representatives froin the Great Plains Institute will be in 7901 Park P�ace attendance tlus evening to review the scope of the entire collaborative with Phone:952.227.1300 Council. Fax 952.227.1310 ��d�ior�e��;r� Staff believes serious consideration should be at least given to signing a letter of Phone:95222�.1125 intent as each bid can still be accepted or rejected even with submitting a letter Fax:952.227.1110 of intent to pas�ticipate. Web�it� www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us f:Agregs\counci1�2015\6-22-15 memo for participation in meh•o eonununity solar garden rfp process.docx Chanhassen i��o��iuuify�or f�ife�Providing for Today and Planning for Tomorrow Mayoj• & City Council June 22, 201 S Page 2 RECOMMENDATION Staff recominends that the City Council approve the attached resolution authorizing staff to sign a lettel•of intent to participate in the Metro Coimnuiuty Solar Garden RFP Collaborative. ATTACHMENTS 1. Resolution Authorizing Staff to Sign Letter of Intent 2. Draft Letter of Intent 3. Literature Describin�Program CITY OF CHANHASSEN CARVER AND HENNEPIN COUNTIES,MINNESOTA DATE: June 22,2015 RESOLUTION NO: 2015- MOTION BY: SECONDED BY: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING STAFF TO SIGN A LETTER OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RFP PROCESS OF THE METRO COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDEN COLLABORATIVE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHANHASSEN AS FOLLOWS: 1. The city council authorizes staff to sign and submit a letter of intent to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division for participation in the Metro Community Solar Garden Collaborative; and 2. Signing the letter of intent does not requii-e participation in any one actual solar garden in the collaborative as the city council has the autharity to accept or reject each proposal submitted individually. Passed and adopted by the Chanhassen City Council this 22"d day of June, 2015. ATTEST: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager Denny Laufenburger, Mayor YES NO ABSENT Date Mr. Jason Willett Metropolitan Council Environmental Services '� 390 North Robert Street �� St. Paul, MN 55101 jason.willett@metc.state.mn.us RE: Governmental Solar Subscriber Collaborative Dear Mr. Willett: �_ We understand the Metropolitan Council intends to issue a Request for Proposals to find business(es) and get proposal(s) to develop community solar gardens to which the Council and other interested government entities can subscribe. [ENTITY NAME] believes the societal, financiad and environmental value of Community Solar Gardens (CSGs) warrants our pursuing this opportunity in conjunction with other local government entities. Our staff has reviewed various materials and resources regarding CSGs, and has reviewed the electrical loads of our facilities. In order to participate in a collaborative and expeditious manner, we agree to abide by the Metropolitan Council's procurement processes, to the allotment process between governments, to the evaluation panel make-up, and understand that we will not be able to negotiate (but just accept or decline) these opportunities. We agree to not hold the Metropolitan Council, the other participating governments or the Great Plains Institute liable for their good faith efforts in this program. Overall, we have concluded that there is value in this program and therefore, we intend to participate in subscriptions that become available as part of the Metropolitan Council's Request for Proposals for CSG Subscription Agreements slated to occur in July, 2015. Attached to this letter is a list of facilities we intend to involve in the purchase of Community Solar Garden subscriptions - if the price and terms of the subscription agreements meet our goals and objectives. In total, this is a commitment not to exceed [SUM OF ALL SUBSCRIPTION LOADS] kWh. This letter does not bind [ENTITY NAME] to sign any specific subscription agreements or otherwise commit financial resources to a community solar garden project. Nor does submitting this letter to the Metropolitan Council prevent [ENTITY NAME] from soliciting for CSG subscriptions alone or with other entities. The intent of this letter is to clearly state [ENTITY NAME]'s desire to subscribe to one or more community solar gardens dependent on the terms and conditions of the proposals received as a result of the Request for Proposals for Community Solar Garden Subscription Agreements being issued by the Metropolitan Council in June or July, 2015. We encourage the Metropolitan Council to continue to take a leadership role on CSG projects so that [ENTITY NAME] along with other local government entities can participate in the financially responsible and environmentally preferable attributes of solar energy and share those benefits with its residents and businesses. Together, by leveraging the strength of local government entities and the expertise of the �'I Metropolitan Council, we can reduce carbon emissions and improve the overall quality of life 'I for metro area residents and businesses. I �... Sincerely, � [FULL NAME OF HJGH RANKING STAFf OR ELECTED OFFICIAL] [FULL TITLE] �.� .�. <:�.,; N EN � P � � � z � � �;� �-�,7�'�� \� � _� �� s faREAT Pt�QtNS '� 4 a � `.� " ��"' INSTITUTE � ,: k'.r�F, � �ky�� = � F ��.�' � :.�. � ��E�c� � �� s �1��[��'.�T�t�l.l I�Ah` s°vRce �� — -- � RF�sevcouarv, {it t o(1 al,�_, l, U' IJ h� G i L Eetter Energy E4etter 4'd�rltl, -- --- -- � 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: — t; � � .��-�� 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 Due July 24t", 2015 participating entities) Proposals Due August 3�d, 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(�a.qpisd.net. Download documents, read frequent questions, and find more information online at mncerfis.orq/solarqardens/collaborative mncerts.org/solargardens/collaborative 6/3/2015