HomeMy WebLinkAboutDec 2019 REFAC Meeting summaryMeeting summary
Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee
12/4/2019
REFAC Members present: Chris Rose (chair), Meera Kohler, Lee Thibert, Sen. David Wilson, Alicia Siira,
staff from Rep. Wool’s office
Others present: Neil McMahon, Curtis Thayer (AEA), Kirk Warren (AEA), Rob Jordan (AEA)
Recommendations & Motions
1. To comply with the statutory requirements, AEA asked the committee if it should recommend
any projects to the legislature. The committee recommended that no projects be recommended
this year.
2. The committee agreed to AEA staff’s proposed RFA release schedule.
3. The committee recommended that AEA staff reduce the maximum per project grant amount to
$2M/$1M from $4/$2M (high cost/low cost areas)
4. The committee recommended that AEA staff prioritize early phase projects—set a target of 75%
of grants to be Recon/Feasibility and 25% Design/Construction. After discussion, there were not
any recommendations to change the scoring process to meet these targets, but that it signal to
applicants the intentions of the REFAC in the final stage of prioritizing projects.
5. The committee agreed with staff suggestions for improving the operations and financial
planning of grantees through the addition of a template for business and operations planning
and more specific language in two criteria to create more incentives for additional planning.
6. The committee agreed with staff suggestions insert language in the RFA and application to allow
supply- and demand-side efficiency efforts into the scoring of standard applications.
7. The committee would like staff to add language that clearly spells out how the cost of
metering/tracking project applications will be applied to the benefit-cost ratio.
8. The committee passed a motion for AEA staff to research ways that they can continue to
analysis data that it receives from REF communities and perform analysis. In addition, the
committee requested to continue past practices, or something equivalent, for data collection,
analysis, and public dissemination of REF performance data. The committee sees this as being
necessary for their ability to provide advice to AEA and to communicate to the legislature that
public dollars have been used productively. For similar reasons, the committee also requests
that AEA staff continue to produce the REF annual report in a format similar to what has been
produced in prior years.
Additional requests
1. Send a draft copy of the RFA to committee members for their review prior to release. AEA staff
has a target of completing the RFA by mid-January at the latest.
2. Find out how members are re-appointed to the REFAC and report back to the committee (the
appointments of Chris Rose and Meera Kohler end in March 2020).
3. The committee would like to understand what budget constraints are in place and how funds
might be rerouted to fund data collection, analysis, and dissemination.