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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3-1-11 FINAL DRAFT_Meeting Minutes 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 A REF program modifications resolution written by Mr. Posey and Mr. Reeve could be added to today’s agenda. It was stated that the importance of the modifications throughout the discussion was put off and what we really need 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 coal regions research it to be 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 written for shorter 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 maybe one or two members review the scope of work. If you look at the status report it has the information on two projects with a year’s worth of data, but may have to perform a sensitivity analysis on the fuel crisis. With construction season approaching there will be more activity. Evaluation should cover 1) the program and its objective 2) we have a large number of projects in process of finishing construction, how do we build hope for the rural communities It’s important we look at the primary objective which is far reaching, completed projects will be 20 by the end of the year, pointing out that the monies weren’t 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. Find solutions to enable us to approach the homeowners – maybe as a group 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 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 or concept on how to approach and we will be scheduling a meeting with Denali Commission to discuss regional approach cooperation with the university. AEA should not take the lead, but should provide technical assistance. We have prepared a write up that we will share with everyone after we meet with the Denali Commission and the University but we should come up with a plan as to what project should be constructed, considering energy efficiency, application appropriates and AHFC’s home rebate programs. Jay Livey said he favored regional organization, but said there should be guidelines, 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. 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. There are a lot of projects potentially in the next two years with some projects possibly in the 2014-15 timeframe but no dollars 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 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 needs to be working on changing or editing the program to accommodate for next year. Mr. Rose stated that the resolution should state we are directing AEA to work at recommending $200 million of projects next year. Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee Meeting March 1, 2011 Page 3 of 3 It was also stated that AEA needs to ensure people know how to complete the applications and Mr. Crimp is working with Denali Commission on that issue. Mr. Crimp pointed out that the thrust of these Regional Energy Plans is what should be done and also ensure Commissioner Bell is on board. 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 $100 million for the project for 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.