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Home My WebLink AboutParticipate With California Center for Sustainable Energy on the Sunshot Initiative - U.S. Department of EnergyCITY OF PALM DESERT DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF REPORT REQUEST: AUTHORIZE STAFF TO PARTICIPATE WITH THE CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ON THE SUNSHOT INITIATIVE OFFERED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND TO ALLOW THE CITY MANAGER TO SIGN AS THE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE. SUBMITTED BY: Missy Wightman, Assistant Plan ne �COUNCILACT " WPPROVED ✓ DENIED DATE: August 25, 2011 RECEIVED OTHER CONTENTS: Draft Letter of Commitment 1VIGL' 1 Final Project Jurisdiction Budget AYES: NOES: Recommendation ABSTAIN:..11 R—' .,..., VERIFIED BY: _ By Minute Motion, that the City Council authorgsigio Pq winohtgvit 9 Ofnee California Center for Sustainable Energyon the SunShot Initiative offered bythe U.S. Department of Energy and to allow the City Manager to sign as the authorized representative. Background The Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a national collaborative to reduce the cost of solar energy systems by about 75% before 2020 to make solar energy technologies cost -competitive with other forms of energy. The initiative is to reduce utility -scale solar electricity to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt hour (total installed cost) without subsidies to result in rapid, large-scale adoption of solar electricity across the United States. The hope in reaching the goal set forth is that American technological leadership will be re-established, along with the improvement of the nation's energy security, and strengthen the U.S. economic competitiveness in the global clean energy race. The California Center for Sustainable Energy is working to develop a program in response to the Department of Energy SunShot Rooftop Challenge and is seeking partnerships with twelve key jurisdictions in the region. The twelve jurisdictions are proposed as the City and County of Los Angeles, City and County of San Diego, and the cities of Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Chula Vista, Palmdale, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Palm Desert. The objective of the Funding Opportunity is to achieve measurable improvements in market conditions to streamline and standardize permitting and interconnection processes for rooftop photovoltaic across the United States. The initiative will address: permitting and interconnection processes, net metering and interconnection standards, financing options, planning and zoning. Staff Report Authorization to Participate in DOE SunShot August 25, 2011 Page 2 of 2 Figure 1: Flow chart illustrating the impact of awardees' activities in Phase 1 and Phase 2 on the U.S. solar market w as -Improved policies •Fragrnerrted policy +Awarders Lay Lire .DOE will facilitate and standaidilred framework among policy and process collaboration among processes enable. 28,000 "A'thority_ framerovork for t ;awardees in each of lower PV costs and having strong solar — the regions shown m increase market Jurlsd'ctions (AMJs) nnarket within their Figure Z to develop (]eni?triiLlC7n and �i,<iorJ Utilities tea nl - rt?,giorlal best piactlL 6°S - creates - •Awarders develop for permitting, inefficiencies and best practices for drawing on Phase 1 I keeps PV coats permitting and results high, limiting intercrmnection .Awarders implement j market within their Lea tt regional best practices penetr,:ation within their respective '. states, and more -- _ broadly if possible Source: SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge to Induce Market Transformation Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: DE-FOA-0000549 Fiscal Impact The City of Palm Desert will be a sub -recipient to The California Center for Sustainable Energy in the amount $23,748. This will be an amount the City can bill staff time against for reimbursement. A cost -share or matched funding is required in the amount of $2,617. This will easily be matched in staff time for meeting preparation, meeting time with the other identified jurisdictions, and review of documents. The Sustainability Coordinator position will be attending jurisdictional meetings to further advance this initiative, if approved and awarded. The Letter of Commitment is due August 26, 2011, and staff believes this program would be beneficial to our community and the other jurisdictions involved moving the solar initiative forward. Submitted by: r .l Missy tman Assistant Planner Approv Pau Gibson Director of Finance Department Head: Lauri Ay ian Director of Community Development I M. WoMmuth Manager C:1Users\mwightman\AppData\Local\Micresof',Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.OitIook\1MN85ETK\Staff Report.doc 73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE PALM DESERT, CA.LIFORNIA 92 2 60-2 5 7 S TEL: 760 346—o6iL info(dcityofpalmdesert.org August 16, 2011 California Center for Sustainable Energy 8690 Balboa Ave, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92123 Re: DE-FOA-0000549 — Letter of Commitment for SunShot Rooftop Challenge Dear: Mr. Andrew McAllister: City of Palm Desert is pleased to support the California Center for Sustainable Energy's (CCSE) proposal as the lead organization for a Southern California response to the Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge. City of Palm Desert commits to officially participate in the Streamlining Solar Standards & Processes: Southern California Rooftop Solar Challenge Project. As a team member, City of Palm Desert confirms its commitment to make personnel in relevant city departments available to accomplish the following project objectives: • Work with CCSE staff to benchmark current permitting, zoning, and interconnection processes; • Engage with the regional team to identify opportunities for process improvements; • Work with CCSE and the local utility on interconnection and net metering standards; • Champion the implementation of improvements within City of Palm Desert; and • Track the impact of operational changes within City of Palm Desert resulting from project. Additionally, City of Palm Desert commits to the following resource allocations to support project activities: • $23,748 of funding from CCSE as a grant sub recipient • $2,617 of in -kind matching funds in the form of professional staff services. In all, City of Palm Desert's cost -share constitutes .24% of the project's total cost. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Challenge. We look forward to working closely with CCSE and the other program partners to make this project a success in the Southern California region. We believe the proposal and the scope of work outlined in it, will achieve measurable improvements in market conditions for rooftop photovoltaic in our jurisdiction. Sincerely, John M. Wohlmuth «rxixrcu ox aeracn vePvx 4j)- in- v)- v-T try v). 00: 00. 0 0 a) 0 01 L.0 00 m rn' H r' 1 00 r, 0 D N i. 06, lD .1i: CF Lr1 m -t:r o 0. o LD: 0 kD r- It:T (N M r-I -4 0) 00 ry) :T a) ,- 001 I r- & r -+ 6 lZI: ko Lr) zt (N r-I ,.I' 0 0' 0 0 10 N - rq C4 C4 CO OCL: 0;: 0 0. S) -i cq tD r,: r, i Ln r4; 0 W ro: Ln LD OD r-4 N r-4: rl� 0) � 0 C-4 00 LD M rl; CY), 01 -!T .ZT Cf') o I* z Idol *1 o00 CN; Ln 'ZT Ln! 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