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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREFAC Minutes 11-25-08 FINALRenewable Energy Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes November 25, 2008, AEA Board Room Participants: Vince Beltrami Bob Swenson Steve Haagenson Brad Reeve Peter Crimp Sen. Lyman Hoffman Chris Rose Mike Harper Chris Rutz Ken Papp Martina Dabo Jill ??? Butch White Rep. Bill Thomas (via phone) Sara Fisher-Goad Jodi Mitchell (via phone) Christa Caldwell 1) Briefing on Status Round 1: 112 applications requesting $450 million Round 2: 121 applications requesting $316 million (minus the Mt. Alice application) One application was rejected in Round 1 and reapplied in Round 2: - Mt. Alice – subdivision in Seward, wave activated cones and a wind turbine - Applicant spoke with many people in the building. - Steve does not think the application qualifies. Stage 2/3 Review - Peter Crimp The whole review process will be posted online. Stage 2/3 review is not done, but will be in database due January 30th. Cheryl Sutton at LB&A, Ralph Samuels wasn’t sure if December 10th meeting of LB&A would happen, but might rather just pass the list to the entire Legislature in January. The applications are being reviewed very carefully; one by one – very thorough. No communities that are served by the Railbelt are included. Approach and Schedule Refer to slide #3 of REFAC 11-25 PowerPoint Review Process Phase 1: Jim Strandberg, Peter Crimp, and Butch White – didn’t read every word, but did a pretty thorough look at each application. - Refer to slide #5 Phase 2: Technical and economic feasibility. - Refer to slide #6 - DNR has assisted in looking at what the resources are and the difficulty in permitting - ISER, peer review Database of projects on the web: Slide #7 Example – Allison Lake Hydro Feasibility A “0” was in “public” because it was not scored, yet. Sen. Hoffman raised a concern about how someone in Southeast Alaska could get a “10” when they already have low power. Stage 2 is based on technical and economic feasibility and Stage 3 will differentiate between the costs of power across the state. The published cost of living will be used in weighting the score. There is concern that PCE will mask the effect on residential. Sen. Hoffman is concerned that the matching will not work in the high cost of power areas because they seem to have the hardest time finding matching funds. Chris Rose wonders how to deal with projects that score low on technical and economic feasibility, but score high on cost? Projects will be displayed on a map to show the regional distribution of the proposed projects. Chris Rose thought that perhaps there could be a pass/fail on technical and economic feasibility. After the ranking by region is finished, the committee will have to stand back and take a look at it. Vince Beltrami expects it to turn political. Phase 3 (refer to slide #8) Item #2: Matching – local lands given more consideration as a match?? Many places had multiple types of matching. Item #5: Econ and other Alaska Benefit – can be adjusted up or down. Item #6: Sustainability – if funded, will this project stay functioning. Did not really set a specific time frame, just overall if it will work. Item #7: Local Support – the more letters of support from the community, the more points, but if there is a difference of opinion in the community, then they received a score of “0” for local support. Request a longer session with the Committee in December. 2) Discussion on Interpretive Issues Issues/Recommendations Issue #1: (refer to slide #10, IPP projects) - RCA CPCN based on debt, production tax credit. - Establish a relationship between AEA and RCA. - Chris Rose says they have to be a certificated IPP to apply. Issue #2: (refer to slide #11, Multi-phase funding) - Fund all of Tok wood-fired boilers. - Fund a few phases, example being Dillingham wind. - Brad Reeve was wondering how to deal with biomass when feedstock may not be available for an extended amount of time. Issue #3: (refer to slide #12, Competing/Interacting projects) - Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan – possibly all being tied together. - Four Dam Pool - Chris Rose wonders if competing projects (from the same area) are going to be flagged for the Legislature. The answer is yes, they will be flagged. Issue #4: (refer to slide #13, Partial funding levels) - If alternatives are recommended, they will be looked at in the budget line by line. - Brad Reeve wonders if AEA has the resources available to manage projects. Issue #5: (refer to slide #14, Less than optimal proposed projects) Issue #6: (refer to slide #15, Eligibility of fuel projects) Issue #7: (refer to slide #16, Eligibility of resource assessment projects) 3) Discussion on Independent and Peer Review of the Alaska Energy Plan and Renewable Energy Fund Steve Haagenson showed a draft example of Energy Plan snapshot page for a community. - Chris Rose: Where is the backup? How did we get the data? Make sure to clearly define that these are high-level estimates. - Brad Reeve: make sure we maintain/update the information in the Energy Plan database. Maybe bring in a National Lab to update/keep focused on technology changes/updates. - ISER developed a rule of thumb on heating oil gallons. - Would like to add Energy Plan data to the spatial map – Ken Papp said that could be done. 4) Clean Energy States Alliance Chris Rose said Mark Sinclair, Executive Director – Clean Energy States Alliance, is willing to come up and speak with the Committee, possibly the first week in January. Peter Crimp suggested that the visit wait until after the Legislative Session ends and when it’s time to take another look at the program. Brad Reeve was wondering what type of output the Committee was wanting from speaking with Mr. Sinclair (1) help in developing the program and (2) lessons learned in other states. A webinar could possibly be set up for Mr. Sinclair the next time the Committee meets. 5) Smart Use of State $ How do you make your money go farther? - Possibly buy more items in bulk. - Weatherization program – should have bought in bulk to save money for the state. - One village project isn’t necessarily enough, but if you get a couple together it may create a viable project – you don’t want too many individual projects - more discussion is needed on that topic. - There is a need to start building new relationships between communities and organizations, such as the Sustainability Steering Committee and Tribal Health organizations. - What if engineering firms are suddenly overwhelmed with projects? o There may be a need to coordinate projects to save on time and money. - Maybe a small energy company would develop in Bethel that would help sustain rural communities and also provide local jobs. - Is there anything available in the Energy Plan that will be available to show communities that banded together what could be accomplished? o A little bit, but nothing too specific. - Possibly expand the Denali Training program to include workforce development for such projects coming from this Renewable Energy Fund. o Could form a loose coalition of places to provide training. Other Goal for today – Ensure the Committee is comfortable with the process. Possibly pass a resolution on the regional spreading.