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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 4262 City of Palo Alto (ID # 4262) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 12/2/2013 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Georgetown University Energy Prize Title: Endorsement of the City's Participation in the Georgetown University Energy Prize Competition and Submittal of the City's Letter of Intent to Compete From: City Manager Lead Department: Utilities Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council endorse the City’s participation in the Georgetown University Prize competition and the submittal of the City’s Letter of Intent to compete, and direct staff to complete subsequent application documents as required. Executive Summary Staff requests endorsement for the “Letter of Intent” to compete for the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP). GUEP is a national competition among communities to develop and implement innovative, replicable, scalable and continual reductions in residential and municipal energy use. An incentive prize of $5 million, to be applied to additional efficiency efforts, has been set aside for the winning community. Background Energy efficiency has been widely determined to be the single most important source of “new” energy available to the world’s economies. To help tap that resource, Georgetown University’s Program for Science in the Public Interest, its Global Social Enterprise Initiative, and its Environment Initiative are launching GUEP in conjunction with a national prize for small to medium-sized communities. Discussion City of Palo Alto Page 2 The GUEP challenges U.S. communities to effectively work with their local governments and utilities. The competition will challenge participating communities to “develop and implement innovative, replicable, scalable and continual reductions in the per capita energy consumed from local natural gas and electric utilities.” Communities will be encouraged (but not required) to strengthen their planning and implementation processes via new or expanded partnerships with businesses, foundations, local colleges and universities, and other resources. Ancillary benefits will be to grow markets for products and services that both facilitate energy efficiency and the production of renewable, clean energy. Participating communities will be asked to develop a long-term energy efficiency plan and to demonstrate both initial effectiveness and sustainability over a two-year period. The main focus of this competition takes place from August 2014 to August 2016 (Stage 3) when the participating communities compete to see who can reduce the most electric and natural gas usage in their residential and municipal buildings. Savings will be normalized by taking the total usage of the residential and municipal buildings and dividing it by the number of residential accounts. Communities will be judged in part on their ability to: • Spur innovative approaches for communities to decrease their per capita energy usage; • Highlight best practices for communities to create and implement inventive plans for sustained energy efficiency; • Educate the public and engage students in energy efficiency issues including methods, benefits and the environmental costs of the full fuel cycle; • Increase the visibility of Georgetown University and competition sponsors who are working to facilitate new and creative approaches to energy efficiency. For this competition, a “community” is defined geographically by the limits of a municipality – a town, city, or county that has corporate status and local government. All small to medium municipalities in the U.S.A. with populations between 5,000 and 250,000 are eligible to apply. These limits to community size include approximately 65% of the U.S. population. The competition will be conducted in four stages over a three- year period beginning in 2013, initiated by a Letter-of-Intent period, during which communities will review and accept the final competition rules. The Utilities Department, with participation from Public Works, will take the lead on the application process. The Letter of Intent is non-binding and the City can terminate its participation in the competition at any time. By submitting the Letter of Intent, the City will receive priority attention regarding questions/comments and access to financial and technical resources provided by the GUEP. Before the competition begins, the City will need to submit a detailed plan for the community’s energy saving program. City of Palo Alto Page 3 Timeline Excluding the Letter-of-Intent stage, the total duration of the competition will be 36 months. Stage 0 – Letter of Intent: 6 months July, 2013 - February, 2014 Stage 1 – Application: 2 months February - April, 2014 Stage 2 – Quarterfinals Energy Efficiency Program Plans: 4 months April - July, 2014 Stage 3 – Semifinalist Performance Competition: 24 months August 2014 - August 2016 Stage 4 – Finalist Selection, Judging and Awards: 6 months August - December, 2016 The winning community will receive a projected $5M prize, to be spent on energy-efficiency programs that reward the community as a whole, such as continuing implementation of the energy saving program. Should the City win the competition, staff will seek direction from Council regarding where to apply the prize money. Resource Impact A non-binding Letter-of-Intent, and subsequent Application to compete for the prize, will reflect Council-approved current or planned energy efficiency programs of the City of Palo Alto Utilities and will not result in a significant change in operating revenues, expenses or staffing resources. Policy Implications This recommendation does not represent a change to current City policies. Environmental Review Council’s approval of the City’s participation in the Georgetown University Energy Prize competition does not meet the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA’s), definition of a “project” pursuant to California Public Resources Code Section 21065, thus environmental review is not required. Attachments:  Attachment A: Georgetown University Energy Prize Letter of Intent (PDF) LETTER OF INTENT City of Palo Alto (name of "Community"), through this letter of intent CLOI"), expresses its intent to compete in the Georgetown University Energy Prize ("GUEP") and its wish to enter into the GUEP LOI Program (the "LOI Program") in order to gain access to experts and resources that will assist in preparing for the competition. Georgetown University ("Georgetown"), as the nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, is a major international research university that embodies its founding prinCiples in the diversity of its students, faculty and staff, its commitment to Justice and the common good and Its intellectual openness. In keeping with its mission, Georgetown offers a wide variety of educational programs and activities, including the GUEP. Georgetown and Community may be referred to as a "Party" or the "Parties", as the context may require. The Parties hereby express their intentions, as of the date hereof, with respect to the following: 1. Intent to Compete. The electronic transmission of this LO!, the Community Description, and online information form, through the GUEP website (bt:tp:!!9yep.georgetown.edu/letter-of-intel'l!l shall indicate the Community's intent to compete in the GUEP beginning with the formal application period, which is currently expected to begin in January 2014. 2. LOI Program. The transmission of this Agreement shall enroll the Community in the LOI Program, which provides communities with access to: a. Early access to technical assistance from Georgetown experts and experts provided by GUEP supporters and advisers b. Priority attention to and response to feedback from Georgetown on the latest proposed GUEP rules c. Priority response from Georgetown to questions about the competition d. Early access to specialized promotional assistance 3. Non-Binding. While this LOI signifies the intent of the Community to compete, this LOI creates no binding obligation between the Community and Georgetown and may be terminated at any time (see Paragraph 6, below). 4. Future Agreement. This agreement does not constitute theflnal Master Competitor Agreement, which will be included with the formal GUEP application. Georgetown expects to make the formal application available in early 2014. 5. No Endorsement. Nothing in this LOI constitutes, nor shall it be deemed or construed to be, an endorsement byeither Party of the other Party's actions, products, services or public communications. guep.georgerown.edu LETTER OF INTENT 6. Term; Termination. a. This LOI shall have effect on the date of its submission to Georgetown, as set forth in Section 1, and shall terminate on the earlier of (X) April 30, 2014 or (Y) the date on which Community submits a formal Application to compete in the GUEP, whichever comes first. b. The Community may terminate this LOI before the end of the term for any reason. Notice of termination must be made in writing to the address set forth in Section 7 below. 7. Notices. Either party may provide notices to the other at the addresses set forth below. The date of notice shall be deemed to be the date of receipt. To Georgetown: Tali Malot Georgetown University Energy Prize 506 Reiss Science Building 37th and 0 Streets, N.W. Washington, DC 20057 To Community: James Keene (Name of Representative) City Manag'='er=------(Title) City of Palo Alto (Organization) 250 Hamilton Avenue (Street Address) -;;::-.~ --c..-:--===-----(Street Address) Palo Alto, CA 94301 (City, State Zipcode) (date) guep.georgetown.edu Georgetown University Energy Prize Community Description for: The City of Palo Alto What you want other cities to know about your community? Located 35 miles south of San Francisco and 14 miles north of San Jose, Palo Alto is a community of approximately 61,200 residents. The City encompasses an area of approximately 26 square miles, of which one-third is open space. A charming mixture of old and new, Palo Alto’s tree-lined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage. At the same time, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technological development. This exciting mix of tradition and innovation makes Palo Alto an extraordinary place in which to operate a business. Unique among California cities, Palo Alto is a full-service municipality that owns and operates its gas, electric, water, sewer, refuse and storm drainage services at very competitive rates for its customers. As befits the City known as "Birthplace of the Silicon Valley," the City has developed a 44-mile dark fiber ring for ultra-fast Internet access. Complementing its exciting and innovative business community, Palo Alto’s residents are highly educated, politically aware and culturally sophisticated. An abundance of local pride and numerous neighborhood organizations contribute to Palo Alto’s charming historic and upscale commercial and residential areas. Characteristic of Palo Alto is the care taken to protect open space and parkland. Palo Alto has a remarkable number of City-owned parks for its size, 34 at last count. Palo Alto’s San Francisco Bay location and natural environment offer the opportunity to enjoy bird and aquatic life in a natural habitat. Proximity to Stanford University with its cultural and educational offerings add to the vibrant, innate charm and beauty of Palo Alto. Sustainability and Efficiency Plans:  One of the first cities to develop a Climate Protection Plan (2007) with goal for the City and Community to reduce emissions by 15% below 2005 levels.  Carbon Neutral Electric Portfolio Plan – approved by Council 2013  Strategic Plan adopted with Goal of Zero Waste by 2021 – approved by Council 2005  Urban Water Management Plan – approved by Council 2010  Renewable Portfolio Standard – 33% renewable supply by 2015 with rate impact up to 0.5¢/kWh  10 Year Energy Efficiency Plan – approved by Council 2010  10 Year Natural Gas Efficiency Plan – approved by Council 2011  Green Building Ordinance requiring new construction to exceed state energy code by 15% - approved by Council 2008  California Green Building Code (CALGreen) with local amendments – adopted by Council 2010  Urban Forest Master Plan – currently under development Sustainability and Efficiency Awards and Rankings:  Ranked #1 Best Place to Live in 2014 by Livability.com  PaloAltoGreen- #1 Green Power Program in US by Customer Participation Rate since 2005  EPA Green Power Community - 4th City in US to meet qualifications, has met requirements every year since 2006  2003 Energy Innovator Award winner from the American Public Power Association for the development and ultimate energy-saving success of a water, energy and environmental management plan for city-owned buildings and facilities.  Ranked #7 in US for Solar Penetration per Utility Customer Sustainability and Efficiency Achievements and Practices:  LEED Silver Art Center and LEED Silver Downtown Library  Potential LEED Platinum Mitchell Park Library and Community Center currently under construction  Potential LEED Silver Main Library currently under construction  Public Interpretive Center at the Arastradero Preserve is solar battery operated (i.e., off the electric grid) and constructed with sustainable materials such as straw bales, recycled wood, Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, high fly ash content concrete (a waste byproduct of coal-fired electric plants) and solar water heaters.  Operate a fleet of City vehicles powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).  Implement six smart grid pilot projects for residential and commercial electric, gas and water customers to study the efficiency potential of these technologies.  Implemented a Summer Demand Response program for the last three years. Last summer seven large commercial customers saved 600KW during a peak event.  Installed a $3M Department of Energy- funded ‘Photovoltaic Demonstration Project’ on City Facilities that showcase a variety of different types of PV installations (including trackers, carports, rooftop) in areas that are highly visible to the public.  Offer numerous water efficiency programs including free indoor and outdoor audits and rebates for water saving devices for both residential and commercial customers.  Offer rebates for reducing storm drain flow, including items such as green roofs and permeable pavement.  Conducted a demonstration project to compare the efficiency of a ground source heat pump system to energy efficient rooftop package units in side by side identical commercial buildings, and shared results. Brief Overview of person/entity submitting the letter of intent, and why they are well positioned to lead this effort. Under the guidance of the City Council and City Manager, this effort will be led by the City of Palo Alto Chief Sustainability Officer, the Director of Public Works and the Director of Utilities, who will direct staff to coordinate this effort. Since Palo Alto operates its own electric, gas and water utility, we are uniquely qualified to coordinate many aspects of this task under one roof. Below is a partial list of entities who could get involved in this effort: City Officials and Departments: City Council, City Manager, Public Works Department, Utilities Department, Regional Water Quality Control Plant, etc. Community Groups and Organizations: Palo Alto Community Environmental Action Partnership (CEAP), Carbon Free Palo Alto, Acterra. Educational Institutions: Stanford University, Palo Alto Unified School District.