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Roseville Public Works, Environment and Transportation Commission Agenda Item Date: March 27, 2018 Item No: 6 Item Description: City Campus Solar Discussion Background: City Staff has been researching and discussing solar installation opportunities for public buildings for many years. In January 2013, staff met with Powerfully Green (installer) and Newport Partners (financer) for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) on the City Hall and Maintenance Building roof. Powerfully Green and Newport Partners were working with the cities of Lindstrom and Champlin who received grants and Neel Energy rebates for rooftop projects in their cities. Roseville's plan was to install two 40kW systems with the City paying $66,000 in upfront costs, with a total project cost of $660,000. The payback of this system was projected to be 10-12 years. City Council supported (3-2) entering into a letter of intent with Newport Partners to apply for grant funding with Neel. The City was not selected for funding through this process. Staff continued to meet with developers and financers in 2014 to investigate the installation of solar PV on rooftops within the City Hall campus. Grant funding was available through Made - in -MN, and a low financing option was provided by the St Paul Port Authority. The City submitted two grants, but was not selected through the lottery process. At the same time, the City was investigating Community Solar. The program has some community support and interest. The project would allow property owners to buy shares from a City installed system and get a credit on their utility bill for the power system they bought into. The residents encouraged the City to look at ways to participate in this program, and was the impetus for a presentation in May of 2014 by the Great Plains Institute/CERTs. CERTs goal was to educate everyone on Community Solar projects and how the City could engage the community. Staff sent out an RFP in January of 2015 that looked at all the rooftops in the City Hall campus to determine how feasible all the locations were, and what total capacity was available. The RFP received two responses, but neither were selected because part of the RFP was looking into grant funding through Made -in -MN. The City applied for three buildings, but was not selected through the lottery process. The City reworked the RFP to look at a direct purchase, or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), for the installation of a rooftop solar system on the Skating Center. Two proposals came back with the City selecting Sundial Solar. In August of 2015, the City Council authorized staff to