Environmental Sustainability Council

MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL ENERGY TRANSITION SUBCOMMITTEE Thursday, September 3, 2020 7:30 – 9:00 Virtual Meeting via Skype CALL TO ORDER: Members: Tim Stevens (Chair), Jon Ward, Michael Trauberman, Andrew Sakallaris, Stacy Noblet, Jason Douglas, Thomas Cash Staff Liaison: Kate Walker, Environmental Programs Coordinator Stacy Noblet introduced herself to the group as a professional in the electric transportation sector. MWCOG Regional and City Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tim summarized the 2018 greenhouse gas inventory performed for the City by MWCOG staff. This is the fourth inventory, added to previous results for 2005, 2012 and 2015). Similar to the region as a whole, results for the City show emissions have remained steady over the past three years. It is unlikely that the City (or the region) will meet its goals for emissions reduction for 2020 (20% below 2005). In addition, MWCOG staff drafted a report recommending that the region adopt a new interim emissions reduction goal of either 40 or 50% (below 2005) by 2030. A draft letter to City Council was reviewed, which included the above results. Mike Trauberman recommended adding a comment about factors increasing the City’s emissions, particularly population increases. Other points of discussion included the inability of our inventory to reflect individual purchases of electric vehicles as well as RECs (renewable energy certificates) purchased from sources other than Dominion. Also it was pointed out that the City could implement financial incentives to reduce emissions, such as lower property taxes for rooftop solar systems, and lower personal property taxes for the purchase of electric vehicles. Electric Equipment for Landscape Maintenance Kate discussed how to begin displacing equipment used for landscaping maintenance (lawn mowing, string trimming, leaf blowing) which use small internal combustion engines. These devices emit considerable pollution and noise. Kate has researched two companies who assist in the promotion of the use of electric motors for these purposes, and talked to a Massachusetts jurisdiction that has implemented a successful program with their help. She is considering ways to craft a pilot program within the City financed by grant funding. One challenge is that the City uses a third party lawn maintenance contractor, so a change in the equipment used could require contract renegotiation. Kate will report back to ETS as appropriate. Energy-Related State Legislation for the 2021 General Assembly Tim proposed four ideas for legislation the City should support as part of its upcoming legislative program. They are as follows: 1) establish a larger “carve-out” in the Renewable Portfolio Standard portion of the Virginia Clean Economy Act for solar photo-voltaic rooftop systems (distributed energy). The current carve-out is limited to 1% of total energy production, and includes sources other than rooftop solar. 2) support more flexible ratemaking for utilities enabling them to offer electric school buses to public school systems. 3) preserve net-metering for people who purchase rooftop solar systems connected to the electricity grid (at present the utilities are requesting an end to net-metering whereby rooftop solar customers get credited at full retail rates for power they offer to the grid). 4) in order to improve the energy efficiency of new residential construction in Virginia, legislation is requested to adopt the latest International Energy Conservation Code without amendments that weaken the energy efficiency provisions. Discussion included a request that the current VCEA distributed energy “carve -out” be increased for rooftop solar, but not at the expense of other renewable energy sources. Also, any new residential construction code should include provisions for vehicle charging stations in new homes. Electric Vehicle promotion; City website Kate and Stacy discussed adding pages to the City’s web site that would inform residents about EVs, including events like National Drive Electric Week. NVTA transportation assessment Kate summarized the report for the group. Main takeaways are that as a result of COVID precautions, we should expect fewer miles traveled in cars, and considerable reductions in use of public transit.