Environmental Sustainability Council

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL ENERGY TRANSISTION SUBCOMMITTEE Thursday, January 7, 2020, Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. APPROVED MINUTES 1. Attendees: Jon Ward (Chair), Mike Trauberman (ESC), Erika Myers. City Staff: Kate Walker (ESC ETS Staff Liaison). This meeting was held via electronic communications using ‘Microsoft Teams.’ This meeting was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2- 3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. 2. Electric Vehicles (EVs): Attendees discussed how to encourage EV ownership and reviewed the local policy actions discussed in the ‘AchiEVe Toolkit v4.0’. Erika noted that upfront cost dominates decisions, even if the present-value total cost of ownership can be lower for EVs. No data yet to forecast local EV uptake. o ACTION ITEM #1: Erika will look for behavioral studies of the decision processes for car buyers. Kate displayed the City’s draft webpage for EV info. The City could ask ‘Electrify America’ to support a Ride & Drive event in the Fall and see what they offer to do. Placement of EV infrastructure added at new developments through the Special Exception process should address the possibility of assigned parking spaces in the decade before EVs become the norm. ETS liked idea of subsidizing charger installations for EV buyers, vs. a tax reduction, so that investment stays local even if buyer leaves the City (e.g., Amsterdam does the installation for buyers). o ACTION ITEM #2: Kate will contact Jerri Northedge at Dominion Energy Virginia about voltage available at streetlight sites, which may have capacity to support EV chargers after LED upgrades. Erika cited 2018 costs of $1.8-7k for Level 2 chargers at streetlights. 3. New Chair Intro: Jon summarized priorities of ETS: responding to questions and assignments from ESC, City Council, and the Staff Liaison (Kate). He noted that ETS members’ interests will drive activities. 4. Staff Report: Kate said that to create the City’s Climate Action Plan to pursue the MWCOG GHG goals, there are many potential actions in Chapter 5 of the Comprehensive Plan (https://www.fallschurchva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11848/Environment-Chapter-February-10- 2020-FINAL), and now the MWCOG Climate & Energy Plan (https://www.mwcog.org/documents/2020/11/18/metropolitan-washington-2030-climate-and- energy-action-plan/). Kate also stepped through example data in the NVRC Climate Resilience Dashboard (https://www.novaregion.org/1481/ClimateResiliency-Dashboards). She is assembling a guide to the dashboard with info about data on Falls Church. She expects to need support in the upcoming Solarize campaign. Kate and Jon are trying to organize a session focused on ESC student members to see how to enhance their volunteer experience.  o ACTION ITEM #3: Jon will repeat outreach to high school faculty to look for tasks or projects that support both ETS interests and the curriculum. Kate has difficulty collecting enough data on residents’ 2020 purchases of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to meet the EPA’s 2020 threshold to qualify as a Green Power Community. She has data on REC purchases through Dominion Virginia Energy programs, but not those through other sellers. 5. November and December 2020 ETS Meeting Minutes: November minutes approved (2-0). December minutes approved (3-0). 6. Next Meeting  Thursday, February 4, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., likely virtual via Microsoft Teams. Abbreviations / Terminology:  DPW: Department of Public Works  GHG: Greenhouse gas  MWCOG: Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments  NVRC: Northern Virginia Regional Commission