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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDRAFT_Meeting Minutes March 1, 2011 Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee Meeting March 1, 2011 Page 1 of 3 Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee Meeting March 1, 2011 – AEA Boardroom 1:12 pm to 4:00 pm DRAFT MINUTES 1. Call to Order The Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee convened at 1:12 p.m. Chairman Vince Beltrami presided over the meeting. 2. Roll Call: Committee Members AEA Staff Other Participants Chair Vince Beltrami (Juneau) Sara Fisher-Goad Paul Verhagen representing Rep. Bill Thomas (phone) Douglas Ott Rep. Alan Dick’s office Brad Reeve (Juneau) Butch White (Juneau) Jay Livey representing Peter Crimp (Juneau) Sen. Lyman Hoffman (Juneau) Mike Harper Jodi Mitchell (Juneau) Devany Plentovich (Juneau) Chris Rose (Juneau) Ron Brown Jim Posey (Juneau) Heidi Sheldon Wyn Menefee (phone) Shauna Howell May Clark 3. Public Comments There were no public comments. 4. Agenda Comments Discussion of a REF program modification resolution written by Mr. Posey and Mr. Reeve could be added to today’s agenda. It was agreed that what is really needed is to do is get more money into REF and to put money into heating programs that will accelerate projects in rural Alaska. We need to make sure the cold regions energy efficiency research is part of the solution. 5. Approval of Meeting Minutes – January 7, 2011 It was stated that the minutes were too long and maybe capturing only the action items should be incorporated into future minutes. Ms. Fisher-Goad pointed out that the January 7, 2011 meeting was substantial which required the lengthy minutes as many topics were covered. MOTION: Mr. Posey moved to approve the minutes from the January 7, 2011 Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Mitchell. There were no objections. The minutes were unanimously approved. 6A. Presentation on AEA heating programs -- Biomass and Heat Recovery Devany Plentovich, AEA Biomass Program Manager, made a PowerPoint presentation to the committee (copy attached). Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee Meeting March 1, 2011 Page 2 of 3 6B. Review AEA Round 4 We are halfway through Round 4. Mr. Posey stated it’s a great program and should continue to show why it should be kept going. Mr. Reeve said that program should be able to show its effectiveness and justification for continuance, looking at all of the economics in Alaska. Mr. Crimp stated that perhaps one or two members should review the scope of work for a program evaluation. He noted that if you look at the status report it has the information on only two projects with a year’s worth of data. With construction season approaching there will be more activity. Evaluation should cover the program and how well it is accomplishing its stated objectives. While the program has a large number of projects in process of finishing construction, how do we build hope for the rural communities whose needs have not been addressed. It’s important we look at the primary objective which is far-reaching. There will be 20 completed projects by the end of the year. Funds were not released until February 2009 – only two years ago. We keep talking about a five-year program, but we’ve been at this for less than four years. (Break 2:33 p.m. to 2:46 p.m.) Sid Atwood joined the meeting. 7. Review Potential Program Modifications Mr. Reeve stated that the REFAC needs to come up with solutions to help keep heating costs down in rural communities as fuel tanks are very expensive. For instance, we should find solutions to enable us to approach homeowners – maybe as a group –to think of ways to work together on this in order to keep community costs down. Mr. Rose stated he didn’t think this program could be made into an individual residence program, but added that there is a niche out there. There may be ways to start subsidizing heating applications, which all ties to building codes and energy efficiency programs. The Senate asked the Governor to come up with recommendations on how to start integrating programs. We need to be strategic with the monies – maybe through an RFP process. Mr. Reeve said they tried to look at regionalizing some of these projects. There are a lot of villages that don’t have this expertise and we need to encourage small villages to partner together. Mr. Crimp stated that AEA has substantial amount of funding for regional energy planning and we should act on that. We have an idea on how to approach regional planning and we will be scheduling a meeting with Denali Commission to discuss cooperation with the university and others. In rural areas, we feel that AEA should not take the lead, but should provide technical assistance and quality control. We have prepared a write up that we will share with everyone after we meet with the Denali Commission Jay Livey said he favored regional organization, but said there should be guidelines on how the region will relate to AEA, and who will be making decisions. Mr. Crimp stated that the existing programs should be used but everyone should agree on the project goals. Mr. Posey pointed out that Legislation controls the money, but the REF process takes care of the region. Regarding energy efficiency improvements, Mr. Livey pointed out that the communities get a tax break if the retrofit is done but may lose taxpayers if they move due to not being able to afford heating costs. Mr. Posey stated that even though three quarters of Alaska pays property taxes, rural Alaska does not. Mr. Crimp asked if it made sense to bring in new housing or retrofit the existing ones. Mr. Reeve pointed out that the communities need engineering expertise. Chair Beltrami stated that the Committee needs to come up with recommendations for program modifications. Referring to the handout entitled “Existing and Potential Renewable Energy Construction Projects”, Mr. Crimp noted that there are a lot of potential projects in the next two years and additional projects in the 2014-15 timeframe. The latter do not have cost estimates associated with them. Mr. Rose stated that there is a need to come up with a proposal that would spur innovation and asked if there was a need for a Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee Meeting March 1, 2011 Page 3 of 3 formal resolution at this point. Mr. Crimp asked how we could speed up on more biomass projects; Ms. Plentovich stated that more feasible studies are needed to know which communities to target. Chair Beltrami stated we need to be working on changing or editing the program to accommodate for next year. Mr. Rose stated that the REFAC should prepare a resolution stating it is directing AEA to work at recommending $200 million of projects next year. It was also stated that AEA needs to ensure people know how to complete the applications and AEA should work with Denali Commission on that issue. Mr. Crimp pointed out that the thrust of these Regional Energy Plans is identifying what should be done. Mr. Rose reiterated that the resolution would be a short history of the program – why, what heating needs to be included and directive to staff to request $200 million for projects next year. Sara Fisher-Goad said there was a work session held last week with the new Board members and they are very interested in the Renewable Energy Fund Program. AEA plans on discussing in great detail the Renewable Energy Fund Program at a future Board meeting with REFAC in attendance. 8. Next meeting date: May 10, 2011, 1-4 pm at AEA. 9. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.