Clean Energy Communities: How to Make a Municipal Clean Energy Purchase Bob Wall – Director, Energy Market Initiatives, CT Clean Energy Fund Clean Energy Regional Workshops 2009

CT Clean Energy Communities Program Steps: 1.Town commits to the 20% by 2010 Campaign and makes a municipal town purchase (9% in 2009; 13% in 2010) 2.Town commits to EPA Community Energy Challenge 3.Reach point threshold for local signups to CTCleanEnergyOptions program and clean energy systems Reward – earn clean energy systems (e.g., solar PV, solar thermal, wind)

Preliminary Steps Determine annual municipal electricity use: Period: Calendar Year, Fiscal Year, Any 12-month period Include: Town buildings, schools, streetlights Gather monthly electric bills (DPW, Bd of Ed, Finance) or work with utility account rep Provide total usage in kWh to CCEF – get free cost estimates Recommend a line-item in municipal budget Remember that electricity use varies over time – lowering usage also lowers your clean energy target (and vice versa)

What Counts? 1.Sign up one or more town facilities with CTCleanEnergyOptions 2.Purchase Green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) 3.Install a Class I Renewable Energy System 4.Any combination of the above Cheshire Town Hall

CTCleanEnergyOptions Contact CCEO Suppliers for Presentation Community Energy – Sterling Planet – Pros: Supports state program Earns rebates for signups Supports some local renewables Carbon claim via RGGI set-aside Cons: More expensive than RECs

Green-e Certified RECs Check options on EPA Green Power Partnership site Pros: Green-e certified products Choose resource mix and location Lower first cost Rebates may be available from Sterling Planet and Community Energy Cons: Potentially less environmental value Lacks connection with CCEO program

Install Clean Energy Systems Check technologies and incentives on CT Clean Energy Fund site Pros: Return on investment Truly local resources Supports development of industry Creates local jobs Cons: High initial capital cost Limited technology options Potential siting issues Essex Recycling Center

Strategy #1: Competitive Supplier Town switches to competitive supplier for generation service Use savings to finance clean energy purchase Example: Town uses 2 million kWh/year Town switches from CL&P (gen. svc. chg. – 11.9¢/kWh) to Acme Electric (10.4¢/kWh) Savings = 1.5¢/kWh or $30,000 Use portion of savings to purchase 9% clean energy (180 RECs at $5-$13 = total cost of $900 to $2,340)

Strategy #2: Energy Efficiency Town joins EPA Community Energy Challenge and pledges to reduce energy use by 10% Use savings to finance clean energy purchase Example: Town uses 2 million kWh/year Through conservation & efficiency measures, town reduces use to 1.8 million kWh (i.e., 10% less) At 16¢/kWh, town saves $32,000 Use portion of savings to purchase 9% clean energy (now only 162 RECs at $5-$13 = total cost of $810 to $2,106)

Strategy #3: CCEO Rebates Town partners with CCEO Suppliers and gets rebates for local customers it helps to enroll Use rebates to finance clean energy purchase Example: Town uses 2 million kWh/year Town seeks 9% clean energy purchase (180 RECs at $5-$13 = total cost of $900 to $2,340) Town gets $20-25 rebate per customer enrolled Every 50 customers yields rebates of $1,000 - $1,250

Strategy #4: Solar PV Savings Town would qualify as Clean Energy Community but for its failure to make a town purchase Use savings from solar PV system to help finance clean energy purchase Example: Town would earn a 4 kW solar PV system if it made a 9% CE purchase PV system would generate ~ 4,800 kWh/year At 16¢/kWh, town would save $768/year – nearly enough to cover the cost of Green-e certified RECs (i.e., $5/REC) Output also counts towards towns CE target, thus lowering cost

Building a Bigger System 4kW requires 400 points, which are earned by CCEO signups (1 point all signups) or local clean energy installations (3 points) (note – new solar thermal and geothermal systems will count) But you can earn bonuses: Each 5% household participation earns a bonus 1 kW (does not apply to towns with fewer than 1,000 households) Designation as an EPA Green Power Community earns 1 kW And you can combine with other grants: Use town money to purchase extra kW at lower cost (note – CCEF will not allow EECBG contribution because of addl costs) CCEF has funding to support purchase extra kW (50% of cost, up to $8,000)

Strategy #5: Climate Change Action Plan Town pursues comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Emission reduction strategies Opportunities include: Increased conservation, efficiency & renewables Reduced VMTs in town fleet Reduced water usage Increased recycling High performance buildings for new construction/renovations Use savings from action steps to help finance clean energy purchase

Additional Resources Resource Page Community Forums Program changes Town commitment Signups EPA Challenge CIGP Sustainability Regional Workshop Page Web Videos (coming soon) Custom Collateral ctcleanenergy.com/communities

CCEF Fuel Cell Programs On-Site Renewable DG Program $14M (all commercial, industrial & institutional – CI&I) Open only to CL&P and United Illuminating customers Federal: ARRA State Energy Program (SEP) $8M (all CI&I) Open to all Connecticut applicants Program Rules and Incentives same in both cases: Up to $2,500/kW Capped at $4,000,000 Middletown High School 200 kW Fuel Cell

CCEF Solar Thermal Program 16 kw Solar Hot Water Collectors Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Solar Thermal Use sunlight to heat domestic hot water Typical System Components: Solar collectors (flat plate or evacuated tube) Water tank Rack, plumbing, valves, pumps, etc. System Considerations: Demand for DHW (showers, cafeteria) Building usage (daily, seasonal) Size to meet 50-80% of DHW needs

CCEF Solar Thermal Program Federal: ARRA State Energy Program (SEP) $4M for commercial or residential projects Incentives: Not-for-profit and governmental projects -- $900 per MMBtu of predicted system output for October through March Maximum incentive awarded per installation - $82,500 Project Eligibility: Open to all Connecticut applicants Domestic hot water only (no space heating or pools) Roof must have 15+ years of life left

CCEF Geothermal Program Federal: ARRA State Energy Program (SEP) $5M for commercial or residential projects Program pending CCEF Board approval in late 2009 Incentives: CI&I not-for-profit -- $2,000 per ton of air-conditioning capacity Maximum incentive for CI&I – 100 tons Project Eligibility: Open to all Connecticut applicants

The Application Process Solar Thermal and Geothermal Non-competitive, first come, first served Residential – system owner must be the applicant Commercial – system owner must be the applicant Installers contract with customer must be for full cost Incentive Payments made to system owner: 100% when installed as proposed, commissioned and inspected satisfactorily Installation variances from application will be subject to incentive adjustment

Circuit Rider - education & outreach on benefits of and incentives for high performance schools Contact Bill Leahy/ISE at (860) or Technical Assistance - grants for feasibility studies for renewable or sustainable features Solar PV Grants - funding for PV systems (~ kW), helps earn LEED points for renewable energy and innovation High Performance Schools Program Barnard Magnet School – New Haven