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216 Mr. Culver stated the two major risks, particularly owning the panels from day one 217 is if there was some catastrophic weather event, the panels could get damaged 218 where insurance would have to come into play versus and O and M situation. The 219 City is insured through the League of Minnesota Cities but if they get a weather 220 event that is significant that would damage the panels then there is other damage 221 and the deductible would get eaten up quickly. The second risk is there is no set 222 clause stating the City's PPA will always be lower than Xcel's energy rate. There 223 is a possibility that there is a marginal higher rate than what the City would be 224 paying Xcel for that same energy in a given year. Given reasonable trends and 225 there is a set escalator on the PPA, that should be a limited concern. After the 13"' 226 year the City would not be paying the PPA anymore. 227 228 Member Kruse asked if Xcel Energy could penalize people for not using the electric 229 grid. 230 231 Mr. Culver indicated they could not. It would be unlikely that the City would not 232 be purchasing electricity from Xcel Energy. 146, 233 234 Mr. Rich Ragatz stated with the solar rewards program, it is set up where the value 235 of the energy the City is keeping 20% of that as a savings each year. This would 236 be a buffer in case rates do not increase as much as was projected or the output of 237 the system did not produce as much energy as was indicated. The City would still 238 be saving money. 239 240 Mr. Chris Psihos stated the program was set up so the City would be saving money 241 whether there was a large increase in rates or less of an increase. He noted iDeal 242 Energies program is set up differently than most other solar companies. 243 244 Mr. Culver agreed with Mr. Chris Psihos and Mr. Rich Ragatz that their goals 245 should be to own the system and to realize the maximum benefit of the solar power 246 production on that because then the City is not paying for the power at all with the 247 exception of operating and maintenance costs. He noted the panels could be left on 248 the City roofs for 40 plus years and still produce energy off of the panels. 249 250 Mr. Culver noted some of the Councilmembers have expressed concern about 251 owning the solar garden at all and as soon as the PPA agreement is up to get the 252 panels off the roofs, so the City does not own them anymore and there is not the 253 risk. 254 255 Member Misra asked if there really is a risk. 256 257 Mr. Culver stated the City Council is concerned about having another asset to own, 258 maintain and operate and the cost of it. 259 260 Member Misra asked how well the solar panels fair in Minnesota weather. 261 Page 6 of 11