09-11-2024 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of City Council FROM: Bill Dircks, Public Works Director Laura Linehan, Community Relations Manager DATE: September 11, 2024 RE: Solar on Public Buildings – City Hall – Authorize Acceptance of Proposal ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED: Staff is requesting the City Council authorize acceptance of a proposal from Apadana Energy for the Solar on Public Buildings – City Hall solar array installation. BACKGROUND: In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature established the Solar on Public Buildings (SPB) Grant Program. The purpose of this program is to provide grants to stimulate the installation of solar energy systems on public buildings. The Department of Commerce plans to issue $4.3M in grants to local governments in Xcel Energy's electric service territory through at least two funding rounds. Eligible applicants for this grant program are local units of government, including a county, statutory, or home rule charter city, town, or other local government jurisdictions. Grants will be awarded for up to 70% of the project costs (dependent on the government’s financial capacity – Little Canada is Tier 2 and up to 60%) for a solar array that is built on or adjacent to a public building and is the lesser of 40kW system capacity or 120% of the building’s annual energy consumption. In order to be eligible for the first round of funding, applicants were required to go through two steps: the Notice of Intent: Public Building Readiness Assessment, and the Full Grant Application. City staff submitted the Public Building Readiness Assessment in May of 2024. On July 1, staff was notified the city’s Readiness Assessment was selected to move to the full application step, with an eligible award of 60% of project costs up to $72,000. The full grant application is due on Monday, September 23, and the award notification will be made on Monday, October 21. As outlined within the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Solar on Public Buildings, the awarded respondent will be required to submit the full grant application on behalf of the city. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL On August 14, the City Council approved the issuance of a Solar on Public Buildings Request for Proposal (RFP). City staff worked with the Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT) to share the city’s RFP with 70 solar vendors on August 15. Additionally, staff posted it on the city website, and published a legal notice advertising the RFP. Staff hosted a site visit on August 22,