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1 <br /> <br />Memorandum <br /> <br />TO: Mayor and City Council <br /> City Manager <br />FROM: Amir Nadav <br /> <br />DATE: May 2, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Community Solar Garden Subscription <br /> <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br />Authorize preparation of community solar garden subscription agreements with approved developer(s) for <br />up to 500 kilowatts in total. The subscription agreement will be brought back to the City Council at a <br />future meeting for approval. <br /> <br />Summary: <br />Community solar gardens represent a way for the City of St. Anthony to participate in the development of <br />solar energy technology in Minnesota without the direct responsibility of owning and maintaining an on- <br />site solar array. Under this arrangement, the city would “subscribe” to a portion of the energy produced <br />by a solar array that is owned and maintained by a third party. The city would receive credit on its <br />electricity bill from Xcel Energy for the production of solar energy and in turn make subscription <br />payments to the community solar garden developer. The city would not make an upfront payment to fund <br />the construction of a community solar garden. <br />The city received proposals from three developers that participated in the “Community Solar Subscriber <br />Collaborative” coordinated by the Metropolitan Council. City staff recommends proceeding with <br />community solar garden subscriptions not to exceed 500 kilowatts, which represents approximately one- <br />third of the electricity demand from all of the city government’s facilities. Staff estimate that a <br />subscription of 500 kilowatts would result in a net present value of electricity cost savings to the city of <br />approximately $400,000 over the 25-year life of the subscription agreements. <br /> <br />Background: <br />In July 2015, the city of St. Anthony submitted a letter of intent to the Metropolitan Council to participate <br />in the “Community Solar Subscriber Collaborative.” This allowed the city to consider opportunities to <br />subscribe to community solar gardens that emerge from the Metropolitan Council’s Request for Proposals <br />for Community Solar Garden Subscription Agreements. The Metropolitan Council negotiated