HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 3/14/2017 - Memorandum From Kevin R Gertig Re: Revised: Colorado State University 100% Renewable Electricity PledgeUtilities
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M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: March 8, 2017
TO: Mayor Troxell and Councilmembers
FROM: Kevin R. Gertig, Utilities Executive Director
THROUGH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
RE: REVISED: Colorado State University 100% Renewable Electricity Pledge
Revisions:
On March 2, City Council received a memo pertaining to staff coordination on CSU’s 100%
Renewable Electricity Pledge; this memo provides revisions to that memo at the request of the
customer. Additions are shown in red and deletions are shown with strike-through text.
LPT Comments from January 30, 2017 Meeting:
Mayor Troxell reported on the following items related to CSU:
1. They have established a goal to be 100% renewable by 2030. How can we partner with CSU
to help them accomplish this goal? It was suggested this topic could be explored at the next City-
CSU Liaison Meeting.
Bottom Line: Utilities and City staff members are developing a project plan in order to
effectively coordinate with Colorado State University (CSU) staff on their recent 100%
renewable electricity pledge. The goal will be to create the project charter that supports roles and
responsibilities, scope of deliverables and collaboration with communication based on a timeline
to support CSU’s desired outcome. The project would include developing an understanding of
the impact on the financial and climate models used by Utilities and Sustainability Services.
Background: On January 25, CSU signed a pledge with The Climate Reality Project as being
committed to receive 100% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2030. CSU is a Key
Account of Fort Collins Utilities and has proven itself as a University that is a leader, both
locally and globally, in the area of sustainability. In the past year CSU has partnered with
Utilities and Platte River Power Authority (Platte River) staff to understand the implications of
several projects particularly the implications of providing large-scale renewables to the Fort
Collins campus, with a recent example being a feasibility study on combined heat and power for
the campus.
The 100% Committed January pledge is in line with these other actions as well as CSU’s climate
action goals, namely a 75 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The following are
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projects and information relating to the City and Platte River’s coordination with CSU’s
renewable goals.
100% Renewable Electricity Project Plan
Utilities will be the lead in managing, with Sustainability Services and Platte River, to create a
project charter and planning in order to set timelines and deliverables (as well as desired
deliverables) to manage help meet CSU’s expectations on this endeavor. Key to the success of
this project will be developing an understanding of the customer’s metrics for success and
desired timeline that includes preferred phases. This plan will also include consideration of
potential impacts on Utilities’ and Platte River’s infrastructure, operating costs, and carbon
accounting, as well as consideration of whether existing rate structures can adequately recover
operational system costs based on the services and infrastructure provided. The current timeline
for this project is:
• Second Quarter 2017 – Develop project charter and assemble project team
• Third Quarter 2017 – Develop stakeholder review process and feedback on data and
scenarios
• Fourth Quarter 2017 – Consider opportunities that may come from the Customized
Resource Plan (CRP) being developed by Platte River; develop draft proposals
• First Quarter 2018 – Progress Report to City Council
CSU’s Wind RFI Process
In November of 2016, CSU released a Request for Information (RFI) to supply the University
with wind power, up to the total capacity of all of CSU’s three Fort Collins campuses. This RFI
was a follow up to another RFI that CSU issued in FY13 exploring wind power options. This
January’s 100% renewable electricity pledge is not directly linked to this RFI process, but does
provide information about options available that Utilities and Platte River have responded to.
Key information highlights are:
1. CSU has indicated, through the RFI process, that it does not have a definitive timeline
beyond the 2030 commitment date at this time.
2. Utilities and Platte River have given two options for pursuing renewable energy and are
prepared to partner with CSU as managed through the project charter and planning
process.
3. Utilities and Platte River staff met with CSU on February 17 to discuss the response to
the RFI, takeaways from that conversation include:
a. CSU received numerous responses to the RFI
b. CSU’s primary concerns is are price stability and carbon reductions
c. CSU may release an RFP in third quarter for renewable energy. No date for that
solicitation has been set.
Aligned Utilities and Platte River Projects
Customized Resources Portfolio Study with Platte River
CSU’s 100% renewable pledge could align with the Customized Resources Plan (CRP) that
Platte River is preparing for Fort Collins, Estes Park, Longmont, and Loveland. Through the
CRP, Platte River is studying resource plans that can meet each municipality’s individual
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electricity supply goals, such as a minimum percentage of renewable energy or achieving a
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The first step in the CRP is to model increasing quantities of renewable energy, both wind and
solar, in order to determine the effect on the wholesale electric system, including estimates of
costs and benefits. As these impacts are better understood, the next step will be to consider
wholesale rates that can support the renewable customization desired by each municipality.
These results—the estimated renewable costs and benefits, as well as the wholesale rate
structure—will help support CSU’s planning efforts related to their 100% renewable pledge.
Current timeline for CRP:
• Second Quarter 2017 - Phase 1 preliminary results (based on utility-scale resources)
delivered to municipalities for review and feedback
• Third Quarter 2017 - Results of Phase 1 revisions delivered to municipalities. Develop
additional scenarios based on customer-scale resources determined in collaboration with
municipalities.
• Fourth Quarter 2017 - Finalize Phase 1 results, including estimated costs and benefits of
increasing levels of renewable resources. Decision point for municipalities to proceed
jointly or separately.
• 2018 - Begin Phase 2: Development of business model and tariffs to support customized
resource portfolio cost allocation among municipalities
Regional ISO/RTO Model
Platte River has been engaged in discussions with six other regional utilities about joining a
regional wholesale market in the Rocky Mountain West, including most of Colorado, and
portions of Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, and Arizona. Regional transmission
organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) are generally not-for-profit
organizations that serve as third-party operators of a pooled transmission system under a
common tariff (sometimes referred to as “power pools”). Platte River provided a draft
whitepaper on organized markets to its Board of Directors and Utilities has shared a copy with
City Council.
An ISO/RTO could be functioning in the Rocky Mountain West region by 2019. While this
effort adds uncertainty in the current planning for renewables (and other resources), it is
expected that an ISO/RTO will ultimately facilitate the addition of renewable supply while
maintaining reliable service. This is due to two primary factors. First, in an ISO/RTO there will
be a single transmission tariff within the region, eliminating “pancaking” that occurs today,
where there are multiple transmission tariffs that stack up when moving electricity across
multiple transmission systems. Second, a market could make it easier to procure energy and
services from a wider area to balance the variable output from wind and solar generation.
Significant uncertainty remains as the process toward a regional market unfolds.
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Utilities Coordination With Other Customers
Utilities held a workshop with commercial customers on February 7 to determine business needs,
desired processes and intention to install renewables locally. Twenty-three businesses answered
the initial survey and 15 attended the workshop, giving considerable feedback. Staff has
synthesized the results from this workshop in the 2017 Business Renewables Workshop Report
(attached). [Attachment has not changed, included with March 2 memo]
Next Steps:
• Mayor, City Manager and Utilities Executive Director scheduled to meet with CSU staff
about the pledge on March 7, 2017. [Completed]
• Create Project Charter with plan based on deliverables and timelines with CSU, Platte
River, Fort Collins Utilities and Sustainability Services in second quarter 2017.
CC: Lisa Rosintoski
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel
Lance Smith
Lucas Mouttet
Dan Clark
Lucinda Smith
Tim McCollough
John Phelan
John Bleem (Platte River)
Brad Decker (Platte River)
Paul Davis (Platte River)
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