Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
1-16-2014
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, January 16, 2014 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, Mark Sievel, Fred Hurley, Charlie Copp, Joseph Borst, Desiree Galassi, Barbara Toomey, Beth Young
Absent: James Gulalo
Communications:
No communications this month.
Public Comments:
Two representatives from Next Step Living, a New Haven based company that does home energy audits, attended the meeting. Next Step Living partners with communities to assist with outreach to residents and assisting in getting the home energy audits going in town.
Acceptance of Minutes:
Mr. Borst made a motion to accept the minutes of the December 19, 2013 meeting minutes with as presented. Mr. Sievel seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
HES Program
There was an article in the Newtown Bee on the $10,000 grant the Sustainable Energy Commission received based on the success of the HES program. The article appeared in the January 17, 2014 edition of the paper.
Solarize CT
There are 17 orders that have been signed and the program is now in tier 4 pricing. The program started out at tier 3 pricing. There are still 20 – 25 assessments that still need to be completed with close to 100 leads that need to be followed up on as well. There was an article on the Newtown Patch about the Solarcize CT program. The Solarcize CT Program ends on February 11 and all contracts need to be signed by then.
Ms. Quinn handed out some signs about the program for commission members to put at the end of their driveways.
Ms. Quinn and others will be at the Stop & Shop over the weekend to hand out flyers about the workshop on January 21, 2014.
There is an upcoming workshop on January 21, 2014 at the Sandy Hook Firehouse at 6 pm about the Solarize CT program.
Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
Batchhelder
The pollution abatement is proceeding slowly. There is another RFP out to remove the steel from the property. The funds brought in from the removal of the steel will likely pay for the removal of the building on the property. The intent for the cleared property is to put a solar farm on the property with virtual net metering capabilities. The aluminum doss has already been removed from the property.
Landfill
There is an RFP for a solar farm on the landfill. The Park and Rec department already evaluated this property for the possibility of a new field but it wasn’t possible. About 1 megawatt can be built on the property and the credits that are generated can be used towards any of the schools, up to 5 locations.
Reed School, Animal Control, Parks and Rec and Board of Education Storage
RFPs have all gone out to build systems. RFP is for Z-Rec with a PPA (power purchase agreement). Another possibility is for town ownership of the systems through the C-PACE program.
Energy Savings Performance Contract – IGA Status
There have been two meetings with Ameresco and 30 types of energy savings methods have been identified including lighting and moving from oil to gas boilers. They are trying to balance out the measures between the schools and the town buildings. A second look at LED lighting with CL&P is being taken with the possibility of grant money. Making lighting changes is being looked at in three to four different ways during this process.
Some of the paybacks identified have the potential to taking a long time, the ideal for the project is to have an average of a 15 year payback overall.
The next round of this study will include looking at lighting levels and they will have to meet or exceed the appropriate levels. A look will be taken at the Middle School to balance the climate of the school with heating versus cooling in various areas of the building.
This project will advance rapidly with the investment grade audit being returned in April. The hope is to have the projects ready to go once construction season arrives and schools are let out for the summer.
Microgrid
The Hawley School may be a candidate for a microgrid, there is funding available. The power source and the heating and cooling could be located in a boiler room at the school could be a good fit for the system. The Hawley School will always be a town building which is why it is a possibility for this type of project.
The Middle School is also close by and could benefit from the excess power produced. The timing may be right for this type of project.
Transition Movement
Earth Day planning has begun for the event on April 26 at the Middle School. There will be kid activities, music, vendors, crafts, and more.
Municipal Energy Plan
Ms. Quinn is still waiting for more information for the Portfolio Manager.
Budgets / Grants
The town has received a $10,000 grant for the accomplishments in the HES program. Some possibilities for the grant funds are charging stations for cars at Fairfield Hills or contributing to building the mircogrid. The funds can also be used to promote programs or developing plans as well but it can’t be used for building systems.
Reed School 5 kw System
There are a few issues that need to be corrected; the re-wiring needs to be finished. The original system and the new system were not compatible because of the technological advances since the original system was built on the school.
New Business
Welcome to newest member, Beth Young!
Adjournment:
Mr. Borst made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:56 pm. The motion was seconded by Ms. Toomey. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
| 
