2015-07-28_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Public Works Director Culver reviewed project updates and maintenance activities listed in the staff report and attachments dated July 28, 2015. Due to limited time for the business portion of tonight's meeting, Mr. Culver asked individual members of the PWETC to contact staff for any additional information or if they had questions. 5. City Campus Solar Panel Installation Proposal Review and Recommendation Public Works Director Culver provided a quick overview of two proposals received for a solar panel installation on the Oval/Skating Center roofs, as detailed in the staff report dated July 28, 2015; and as displayed via Power Point presentation, a copy of which is made a part of the staff report and attached hereto and made a part hereof. Mr. Culver noted receipt of two proposals: one from TruNorth with several options included in their response to the Request for Proposals (RFP) and a proposal from Sundial Solar. Based on ownership and upfront costs, and after staff's analysis and comparison of the two proposals and full submittals from both solar developers, Mr. Culver advised staff was recommending entering into an agreement with Sundial Solar for a Power Purchase Agreement system that the City will then be able to purchase in the sixth year after installation with the use of a charitable contribution for a private sector third party. Mr. Culver noted the submittal from Sundial was much more detailed and contained several tables providing for a cost analysis and power production analysis. Mr. Culver noted that the TruNorth proposal included the option for one power purchase agreement and another option for a simple direct purchase, with both requiring entering into an energy partnership loan through the St. Paul Port Authority (SPPA) for fifteen years, and based on minimum dollar amounts and assumptions as detailed in the staff report. In analyzing the Sundial proposal, Mr. Culver noted the different power purchase agreement, with installation costs higher, but no upfront financing required of the City for that initial purchase price, and therefore requiring no loan with the SPPA. Mr. Culver noted this was due to taking advantage of tax equity financing and the power purchase agreement, combined with the charitable contribution at year six for the third party, at which time the City would purchase the system at 5% of the fair market value of the system and the tax equity partner would donate the remainder for a large tax write-off. Mr. Culver reviewed advantages of this option in overall power savings over a twenty year period, estimating an additional $500,000 would be realized by the City in power savings alone. Mr. Culver advised that, as part of their proposal process, Sundial had toured the roof area and realized it could make much more use of the roof space. In both scenarios, even with a smaller footprint, Mr. Culver advised that there were further advantages with a solar panel system over the arena roof, as additional Page 2 of 5