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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-11-16 EMC Final Minutes 1 Draft Minutes of the EMC 2 3 Date: February 11, 2016 4 Time: 4:00pm 5 Location: Old Jail Conference Room, 125 E. Court St. 6 7 Attendees: 8 Name Representation Susan Riley P At-Large Tom Shelley P Ithaca CAC Linda Spielman P Village of Dryden Ron Szymanski E Village of Freeville Roger Yonkin A At-Large Anna Kelles P Legislature Liaison Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member Jose Lozano P Associate Member Scott Doyle P EMC Coordinator Jennifer Turner P Administrative Assistant 10 11 Guests in attendance: Sara Culotta, Project Manager, Taitem Engineering; Scott Bochenek, 12 Manager – Smart Grid Programs, Avangrid (formerly Iberdrola); Drury MacKenzie; Dan Klein, 13 Tompkins County Legislature 14 15 Call to Order– The meeting was called to order by Brian Eden at 4:05pm. 16 17 Introduction – Brian Eden opened the meeting by providing background on the efforts of the 18 Energy Roadmap Steering Committee, and Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) an order that 19 was signed by the Public Service Commission in 2014 aimed at increasing energy system 20 efficiency and market based deployment of energy system resources, followed by the adoption of 21 the regulatory policy framework and implementation plan in December of 2015. Last week, a 22 demonstration implementation plan was filed. He introduced Scott Bochenek and Drury 23 MacKenzie from Avangrid along with Sara Culotta from Taitem Engineering who were in 24 attendance to discuss and receive feedback on the REV Demonstration Project. 25 26 NYSEG REV Demonstration Project “Community Energy Coordination” – Scott Bochenek 27 Smart Grid Program Manager at Avangrid (Iberdrola) reported on his efforts with the Smart Grid 28 project which started in May of 2015, and noted his involvement with Energy Smart Community 29 Project which is pending approval of a small deployment of smart meters. Scott outlined the 30 Smart Grid program, noting the main component of distributed energy resources (DER), small 31 scale generation that includes solar, small-scale wind and CHP (combined heat and 32 power),weatherization, insulation, and demand response which would manage the amount of 33 energy being used with real-time controls. The concept for this project is to play a role in the 34 distributed energy resource value chain and would serve to support the overall energy goals of 35 the community, increase customer adoption of distributed energy resources while reducing the 36 cost of customer acquisition and costs to customers, by promoting these services on behalf of 37 service providers. 38 Name Representation Steve Bissen P Town of Dryden Kenny Christianson P At-Large John Dennis P Village of Lansing Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Bill Evans P Town of Danby Pegi Ficken E Town of Groton John Hertzler P Town of Ulysses Jim McGarry P At-Large Vladimir Micic E Town of Ithaca Steve Nicholson E Town of Caroline Carolyn Peterson P At-Large 1 Sara Culotta then reported on Taitem Engineering’s role as Market Coordinator for this project. 2 She began by discussing her background that included many years’ experience in the 3 marketplace with the local community and energy programs. She went on to provide examples 4 for the various programs within the two-year project. Through collaboration and community 5 engagement meetings with stakeholders, elected officials, and service providers, four business 6 models have been developed that they are now receiving feedback on. 7 8 The 1st proposed model “Residential Energy Efficiency” focuses on marketing and would 9 include energy assessments and service recommendations. Access to household utility costs 10 relative to square footage and energy analysis provided by NYSEG would provide information 11 on target markets for these offerings. Service providers would be provided with the potential 12 sales based on interest and would pay a referral fee upon the close of a sale. Discussions are 13 underway of how sales leads are allocated to the various service providers. 14 15 “Residential Solar”, the 2nd proposed model discussed, having a focus on data for better 16 prospects, and bundled marketing based on a household’s energy analysis. The strategy would 17 serve to identify which services would most benefit a household, likely pairing solar and energy 18 efficiency, and would provide unique plan scenarios and cost analysis based on a household’s 19 needs and capabilities 20 21 The 3rd proposed model, “Community Solar”, (community distributed generation) involving a 22 leased power purchase agreement that can be wind or solar generation. A sponsor would host a 23 large array or tower that would be set up for distribution to a number of households and could 24 include renters through ownership of a part of the array or a leased power purchase agreement. 25 A relationship between the host and NYSEG would facilitate the exchange of information 26 regarding the remote net metering agreements and contracted energy use. The utility company 27 would serve as the trusted source for advertising these services to their customer base. The 28 parameters for low and moderate income (LMR) were discussed, and community solar in 29 collaboration with home energy assistance was noted as a possible outlet. 30 31 The 4th proposed model discussed focuses on energy efficiency on farms. Sara noted that this 32 option may be extended to NYSEG coverage areas in Cayuga County as they have the second 33 largest number of dairy farms in New York State. Initially farm owners would be encouraged to 34 sign-up for a NYSERDA farm audit in order to determine best services, followed by assessments 35 by private solar and wind companies. Discussions centered on the specific incentives NYSEG 36 might offer for energy efficiencies improvements made on farms. 37 38 Members questioned whether a household will have the ability to pair net-metering and remote 39 net-metering, and it was discussed that further research into tariffs would help determine the 40 whether this would be an option. Discussions centered on State net-metering regulations and 41 lobbying the Public Service Commission to increase the limit net-metering. 42 43 Announcements – Sara Culotta announced the Commercial Energy Workshop being offered by 44 Cornell Cooperative Extension, Chamber of Commerce, and Taitem Engineering is offering to 45 commercial and non-profit business owners or tenants for an energy audit. 46 1 Introduction – Anna Kelles was introduced as the newly appointed Legislature Liaison. 2 3 Approval of Minutes – January meeting minutes were approved by unanimous vote with a 4 correction. Final minutes are posted on the EMC webpage: www.tompkins-co.org/emc. 5 6 Energy – Brian Eden reported on the HeatSmart Tompkins webinar that took place today, noting 7 the assessments of the program, and asked members for feedback or suggestions of niche 8 markets. He went on to report on the Supreme Court’s granted injunction of the EPA’s clean 9 power plant. Brian further noted concerns centered on local hotel development and lack of 10 awareness and or implementation in relation to energy efficient building. Also discussed was 11 Governor Cuomo’s letter to the PSC regarding the closing of Dunkirk Power Plant, Prop 21 12 debriefing meeting. Members then discussed the recent news related to Cornell University’s 13 carbon neutrality pledge. 14 15 Environmental Review – John Dennis reported on their committee’s efforts to create signage 16 prohibiting firearm discharge at the south end of Cayuga Lake. Discussions also centered on the 17 ongoing concerns with the possibility of polluted waters resulting from the discharge of brine 18 and Ferrocyanide during rain events at Cargill Salt Mines, and Cayuga Power Plant’s partially 19 unlined landfill. Brian Eden noted the letter that was sent to the DEC addressing their concerns; a 20 response is pending. Members then expressed interest in the proposed developments for both 21 Chain Works District and Maguire’s GEIS (Generic Environmental Impact Statement), and 22 Varna’s recent reduction to their proposed development project. 23 24 Unique Natural Areas – Stephen Nicholson reported on the success of the 600 postcards that 25 were sent out to landowners with the revised Unique Natural Areas. Their committee has decided 26 against moving forward with the analysis that could establish Indian Creek a Unique Natural 27 Area, citing that there is currently not enough information that would qualify it as a separate 28 UNA and is too disconnected existing area. It was reported that their committee will have 29 enough funding to research about 33 additional UNA’s, and will investigate the potential UNA 30 status for the Bell Station property. Their committee is hoping organize a spring field trip to 31 Sapsucker Woods in order to research the findings of Cornell University. Scott Doyle then 32 reported that all municipalities and libraries within Tompkins County have now received the 33 updated revisions to the UNA’s. 34 35 Executive Committee – Stephen Nicholson reported on the committees’ discussion on 36 upcoming presenters, noting a presentation by Jesse Hill on the City of Ithaca’s stormwater 37 management plan to take place at the meeting on March 10. Environmental Agriculture was 38 discussed as a topic of interest. 39 40 Plastic Bags – Tom Shelley reported that their committee met and discussed previous efforts 41 related to plastic bags. John Hertzler reported on his discussion with the Brent Seafuse, owner of 42 Shur-Save in Ulysses, noting his favorable response regarding alternatives to plastic bags. 43 44 Staff Report - Scott Doyle announced the public meeting on the Cayuga Lake Modeling project 45 that will take place at The Space on March 9 at 7:00 PM. He further discussed the Finger Lakes 46 Land Trust’s proposed acquisition of property located at Midline Road and Six Mile Creek 1 which has received approval for financial support from the County’s Capital Reserve Fund by 2 the Planning Advisory Board and will be presented to the Planning Committee for approval next 3 week. He then noted that reappointments to the EMC were approved by the Legislature for Bill 4 Evans, John Hertzler, and Stephen Nicholson. 5 6 Wind Power FAQ: Discussion and Approval – Brian Eden noted the technical document he 7 created, and circulated to members of the EMC and colleagues, noting the overall support he 8 received back. Discussions centered on expanding the circulation of the FAQ outside of 9 Tompkins County, possibly statewide. Member feedback on the document was encouraged with 10 the intention of bringing it forward at the Environmental Management Council meeting March 11 10 for formal EMC support. 12 13 Municipal Reports – Stephen Nicholson reported on the public meeting held last night that 14 addressed the concerns of lead at Caroline Elementary School’s drinking water. Members 15 discussed alternating municipal reports made by members in order to encourage further 16 participation. 17 18 Member Items – Carolyn Peterson announced that she will be stepping down from her At-Large 19 seat on the Environmental Management Council due to relocation from the area. Members 20 applauded her for all her work on the Council. 21 22 Adjournment -- The meeting adjourned at 5:45 PM. 23 24 Respectfully submitted, 25 26 Jennifer Turner, Administrative Assistant 27 Tompkins County Planning Department 28 Approved by Council on 29