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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 06/08/2023 ENERGY BOARD June 8, 2023 – 5:30 pm 222 Laporte Ave – Colorado Room ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Jeremy Giovando, Bill Althouse, Thomas Loran, Vanessa Paul, Marge Moore Board Members Absent: Bill Becker, Brian Smith, Alan Braslau, Steve Tenbrink OTHERS PRESENT Staff Members Present: Christie Fredrickson, Phillip Amaya, Kendall Minor, Cyril Vidergar, John Phelan, Brad Smith, Randy Reuscher, Rhonda Gatzke (remote) Members of the Public: Jan Jones (remote) MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Meeting Chairperson Paul called the meeting to order at 5:38 pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS & AGENDA CHANGES Board member Loran will defer his presentation to another meeting when more of the Board is present to ensure a thorough discussion. PUBLIC COMMENT None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES In preparation for the meeting, board members submitted amendments via email for the May 11, 2023, minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. STAFF REPORTS Executive Director Update Kendall Minor, Utilities Executive Director Mr. Minor asked the Board what their thoughts were after attending Platte River’s Integrated Resources Plan Community Listening Session. Board member Loran said he thought the presentation was good and the PowerPoint slides were well done, his main concern is that Platte River believes they can only hit 88% renewable energy by 2030 but they don’t have any steps to close the gap to 100%. Mr. Loran viewed that as a major shortfall. Board member Althouse wants to know if local resources provide capacity, would that reduce Platte River’s investment in utility-scale? He said Platte River did not answer his question at the session. Mr. Minor said the short answer is likely that it is a possibility. Board member Moore wondered if the cost to reach the last 10-12% is astronomical, would that money be better spent on the many other projects that would help people locally. She hopes that pathway is being considered. Mr. Minor said he thinks the answer to that question lies more within what that looks like, what is the cost, and where is the best use of the investment. There are many challenges to consider ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING along the way. Board members discussed the retirement of coal power plants (Rawhide). Mr. Phelan said there are federal and state requirements to close Rawhide by December 31, 2029.The alternative was to install additional pollution controls for haze, but the choice was made to commit to closing because the cost for the additional pollution controls were very high. Board member Loran said his concern is that as of today there does not appear to be a plan to backfill the electricity from Rawhide after its closing. If it is taking 18 months to procure a transformer, how long will it take to build enough capacity to fill Rawhide’s void? Mr. Minor agreed and said the Utility needs to think through this process through holistically, he added it’s the right thing to do for the ratepayers. Board member Althouse asked what will happen to the water that is used at Rawhide once its closed. Mr. Minor said much of it is tied to the Windy Gap (Northern Water’s water diversion dam on the Colorado River). Nothing has been finalized yet and the Utility still needs determine the best use of that resource. Board member Paul asked if Platte River and the City have a good partnership to align with these goals. Mr. Minor said historically the relationship has been strained, but the goals are similar and both organizations have been working to improve the relationship. Mr. Amaya added many of the Utility’s staff have great relationships and partnerships with staff at Platte River. Board members asked if Platte River’s Integrated Resource Plan has been distributed yet. Mr. Minor advised the report is not yet finalized and remains a work in progress. Mr. Phelan added the IRP is required by WAPA (Western Area Power Administration), but it is not a roadmap for Platte River like it might be in an Investor-Owned Utility. The Board should consider it a milestone in an ongoing planning process. The board has the ability to act outside of that document, it is not binding. Mr. Minor asked the Board to consider the climate goals and their larger meaning; if the City does not hit 100% renewable electricity by 2030, would 80% still be commendable? What about 90% or 95%? Packet Item Q&A No questions on the included packet items. BUILDING ENERGY CODE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Brad Smith, Energy Code Project Manager Mr. Smith reviewed the current status of Energy Code adoption at the State level; Colorado is a home rule state, so there is not a state-enforced energy code, and each jurisdiction can enforce codes as they see fit. Mr. Smith said he views that as a positive because it allows the City to amend and strengthen the current code. In August 2019, HB 19-1260 established a minimum energy code for any jurisdiction adopting building energy codes, requiring adopting one of the three most recent building energy codes. Then, HB 22-1362 put in place building greenhouse gas emissions, which mandated the state put in place a state Energy Code Board to develop EV, PV, and Electric Ready code (by June 1, 2023), as well as Low Energy and Carbon Code (by July 1, 2026). Board member Loran asked if the codes apply only to new construction. Smith said mostly new construction, but some parts of the code would apply to alterations or renovations. Repairs are typically not required to adhere. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING The International Code Council (ICC) publishes new code editions every three years. Fort Collins adopts the most recent code edition within one year of issuance from the ICC. Fort Collins is currently operating under the 2021 I-Codes, which were adopted on April 15, 2022, with local amendments. Mr. Smith said a grass roots effort was started by several jurisdictions across the nation to become governmental voting members of the ICC. These members were able to help get the code moving in an energy conscious direction, which had previously not been able to gain a lot of traction. The Department of Energy (DOE) provided estimated improvement in energy codes, which shows residential improvement 9.3% over 2018, and commercial 4.7% over ASHRAE 90.1 2016 (adopted from 2018 IECC). The 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 are now the most closely aligned. Our Climate Future outlines in Big Move 6 (Efficient, emissions free buildings) to “develop an energy performance path for new construction to zero carbon building by 2030.” The proposed approach begins in the 2024 code cycle: Develop EUI (Energy Use Intensity) and CO2e reduction targets, then develop performance code path and language, followed by creating an implementation guide and training offerings, from there staff will begin community engagement and work toward City Council adoption, and finally they will evaluate effectiveness, measure performance, and adapt the targets. The benefit to this approach is that it runs on one code path, and everything modeled for performance, there is flexibility for builders, and this could result in reduced cost of construction. Mr. Phelan noted this is approach is unique because of the development of an EUI target. Mr. Smith highlighted a potential funding opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the City hopes to be granted: Resilient and Efficient Code Implementation (RECI). The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks applications with project teams ready to advance building energy codes and other building efficiency policies within a particular region, state, or local jurisdiction and includes $45 million over five years (anticipating 10-30 awards). The full application was submitted March 27 and selection notifications will be sent on June 26. Mr. Smith noted a few ways the Board can support this process by continuing to be aware and informed, sharing with their network and disseminating the importance of codes, be prepared to plug-in during the third quarter in 2024 (Code Review Committee), inform City Council and support Building Services in adoption of code, and support the upcoming Building Forward event on July 15. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS None. FUTURE AGENDA REVIEW The Board’s June work session will focus on aligning their planning calendar with City Council’s 6-month planning calendar, as well as a brief presentation from Board member Loran about the Board’s prioritization process. Their July meeting will include quarterly updates from Light and Power and Utilities Finance, an update on the Customer Information/Billing system project, and a field trip out to see the Ice Box Challenge. ADJOURNMENT The Energy Board adjourned at 7:48 pm.