Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
9-20-2012
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, September 20, 2012 in shared meeting room 3 of the Municipal Center located at 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT 06470.
The meeting was called to order by chairman, Kathy Quinn at 7:00 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Fred Hurley, Charlie Copp, Mark Sievel, James Gulalo
Absent: Dan Holmes, Joseph Borst, Barbara Toomey, Desiree Galassi, Sarah Hemingway
Communications:
None at this time.
Acceptance of August Minutes:
Mr. Gulalo made a motion to accept the minutes of the August 16, 2012 meeting minutes as submitted. Mr. Sievel seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
HES Program
Ms. Quinn told the commission that the letter from the First Selectman about the HES Program has been finalized and is in the final stages of being signed and prepared for a mailing. A separate letter was prepared for residents who qualify for low income program, it is managed by a separate vendor.
Cody from Energy PRZ, a featured vendor in the HES Program in Newtown, has informed the Commission that a Call Center is being set up for after the letters are sent out to follow up with town residents who received the letters. The intention of the Call Center is answer any questions the resident may have and sign them up for the program. The vendors will provide the Call Center will a list of contacts along with professional, prewritten scripts. They are hoping the Call Center will increase the exposure of the program.
Ms. Quinn spoke to Liz from Economic Development and has agreed to connect Liz and Northeast Utilities about promoting energy efficiency in and around Newtown.
The vendors are working on setting up a home energy audit on the home of the First Selectman with both vendors working together to complete the audit. Ms. Quinn and Cody will work together on promoting the event and obtaining press coverage for increased exposure for the program. They are aiming to complete the audit in the first week of October at the First Selectman’s home.
Overall, they feel the program is off to a good start.
Solar Panels PPA
The Solar Panels PPA is on track, the vendor put in for 8 projects, all of which were eventually approved by the state. Mr. Hurley pointed out that the vendor was excellent choice, many other projects that were proposed are not coming to fruition because they were not bid upon correctly and were underbid. Because of this issue that is occurring, there is a delay in the announcement of the program for smaller projects.
The contracts need to be signed off on in the state before the projects can move forward. Once the contracts are signed, the projects need to be up and running within one year.
Water Treatment Plant
The ribbon cutting ceremony occurred recently for the Water Treatment Plant and there was an article in the Newtown Bee today about the ceremony. Mr. Hurley stated that the application for the Water Treatment Plant was the top application in the state out of the 7 that were submitted. They are currently looking at a 10 year payback schedule.
Solarize CT Program / Ross Solar
David Hayes from Ross Solar attended the meeting with a proposal for the Commission. Ross Solar applied to be a vendor for the Solarize CT Program and were not selected as a vendor because of their distance from the chosen towns for the program. Mr. Hayes would like the commission to consider developing a similar program to Solarize CT in Newtown in conjunction with Ross Solar. Mr. Hayes stated that the program would be the same as Solarize CT with the exception that they would be providing financing for promotional activities for the program like the state would have if Newtown had been selected. Mr. Hayes clearly said to the commission that the state has already approved Ross Solar offering this program to Newtown. Ross Solar is willing to negotiate on pricing and tiers for the program.
Mr. Hayes explained how the program would work and their interactions with the homeowner from beginning to end. Ross Solar will put together a proposal for the homeowner based on their current electricity usage and what benefits could be had by adding solar power into the equation and what the effect could be if they do not get solar. The home visits with the homeowner usually last between 45 minutes to 90 minutes when the sales person answers any question the homeowner may have and fully explains the proposal and what the impact will be. Ross Solar also makes sure to discuss Net Metering with the homeowner. Ross Solar has the ability to offer financing but they do not currently have a leasing program.
Ross Solar creates the system for each individual home, working with their specialized time of electrical engineers and a structural engineer. They offer elite or standard panels for installation, only after the panels have passed rigorous testing. They offer manufacturer, production, and installation warranties. The proposal costs are based on the homeowner’s electric bill and a state website that uses roof dimensions, the position of the sun, and the energy usage to determine the appropriate solar system and its output. Ross Solar can install roof or ground units but do not install hot water systems. They can install dual or single tracking systems.
Ross Solar is also happy to involve high school or middle school groups to get the program off the ground and going. If the groups are willing to assist, Ross Solar is willing to donate a small solar system to give the students a tool to study solar power and enhance lessons.
Mr. Hayes will be sending Ms. Quinn additional information including how many homes in Newtown they have built solar systems at, a list of clients to contact, and some estimated vs. actual results.
Transition Movement
The photos were displayed at the Arts Festival where Ms. Toomey had a conversation with an staff member at Fraser Woods Montessori School. Ms. Toomey will be speaking with school about setting up a partnership.
The next movie, Dirt, will be shown on October 14 at the library.
Ms. Toomey is also working on a bike program for next year and creating a vegetable garden at the high school.
Go Green Website
Ms. Quinn will be meeting with Dave about the website within the next week.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager
No update at this time.
Arts Festival
Ms. Quinn shared with the commission that she felt the Arts Festival was a success. It generated multiple leads for the HES program and they were able to talk to a good number of residents.
ESCO
Ms. Hurley stated that the Building & Sight Commission and the Sustainable Energy Commission need to put together a presentation about ESCO to promote the program to three boards including the Selectman and Finance Boards. Mr. Sievel and Mr. Copp agreed to help put together the presentation.
New Business
Clean Energy Municipal Pledge – Oct. 1 Selectman’s Meeting
At October 1st meeting of the Selectman, they will discuss the Clean Energy Municipal pledge that further promotes idea of the HES program. The Board of Selectman will most likely review the pledge at this meeting and discuss it.
Municipal Energy Management Plan
Ms. Quinn informed the commission they need to being work on a municipal energy management plan. It should include an overview of what the town wants to start doing and where they should go in the future. Ms. Quinn will email out the guidelines to the commission and they can build up from there.
Brownfield Sites
There has been interest in developing brownfields into solar sites but there needs be a change in state legislation first so the towns can recover the generation and delivery costs from the solar energy that would be produced. This would change the virtual net metering laws.
Microgrid Program
Ms. Quinn passed along a program about mircogrids to Mr. Hurley to review. Mr. Hurley feels that at this time this program is not a viable option for Newtown. He feels there are a few bugs that still need to be worked out and right now the program is aimed at larger cities that can afford the large fees that are involved.
Adjournment:
Mr. Gulalo made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sievel. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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