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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Climate Action Plan Task Force - 09/28/2022 Climate Action Plan Task Force 180 Market Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sbvt.gov Meeting Wednesday, September 28, 2022 City Hall, 180 Market Street, Room 301 and Online 7:00 pm This meeting will be held both in person and digitally via Zoom. Participation Options: In person: South Burlington City Hall Room 301, 180 Market Street Interactive Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84922474406 Telephone: (929) 205 6099; Meeting ID: 849 2247 4406 AGENDA: 1. Instructions on existing building in case of emergency and review of technology options (7:00 pm) 2. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items (7:02 pm) 3. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda (7:05 pm) 4. Discuss of recommending possible charter change to authorize regulation of hearing systems in existing buildings (7:10 pm) 5. Recap of Climate Change-related items from 9/19/22 City Council meeting (8:00 pm) 6. Minutes (8:20 pm) 7. Adjourn (8:25 pm) *Item has attachments Respectfully submitted, Paul Conner, AICP, Paul Conner, AICP Director of Planning & Zoning Chief Sustainability Officer Climate Action South Burlington Climate Action Task Force (CATF) presentation to South Burlington City Council DRAFT A Chalnick 2022-09-23 Recommendation to Consider Charter Change to Permit Regulation of Thermal Energy Systems in Existing Construction Climate Change in Vermont Climate Change in Vermont* SB’s Climate Action Plan •The final Climate Action Plan focuses on actions to address the 2 major contributors to GHGs: Buildings and Transportation •Tonight we focus on Buildings, which account for 34% of South Burlington’s annual GHGs •To meet SB’s climate change commitments, the plan requires all of the following in respect of the Buildings sector by 2030: •360 housing units to be electrified each year to reduce emissions by 9% •600 homes to be weatherized each year to reduce emissions by 5% •8% of all commercial space (by square foot) to be electrified each year to reduce emissions by 17% •All new development >12.5 units/acre to reduce emissions by 4% •All new construction -commercial and residential -to be carbon free to reduce emissions by 4% SB’s Climate Action Plan •The targets are daunting and illustrate the immense and rapid scale of changes that will be necessary to meet SB’s goals. South Burlington has limited ways to make direct and meaningful change. •South Burlington presently has no existing authority to meaningfully regulate existing buildings in order to achieve the targets for electrification of existing residential buildings or commercial space. •Our neighboring City of Burlington requested and received the authority to regulate existing buildings. •Because of the many steps involved, the end-to-end process from considering a charter change to actually implementing regulations under that change can take several years. •For SB to have a meaningful opportunity to impact the carbon footprint of existing buildings by 2030, it is therefore imperative to begin the process now. Burlington’s Charter Change •The City of Burlington’s charter has been amended to provide Burlington the power: “To regulate thermal energy systems in residential and commercial buildings, including assessing carbon impact or alternative compliance payments, for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the City. No assessment of carbon impact or alternative compliance payment shall be imposed unless previously authorized by a majority of the legal voters of the City voting on the question at an annual or special City meeting duly warned for that purpose.” •The proposed change was approved by voters in November 2021 •The charter change was approved by the Vermont legislature and signed by the Governor in April 2022. •We understand Burlington is now in the process of developing regulations utilizing its new authority. Burlington’s Charter Change Mayor Miro Weinberger of Burlington said this after the charter change became effective: “The way to achieve the end of our fossil fuel use and address the climate emergency, while improving our quality of life, is to electrify everything, particularly our buildings and vehicles …The passage into law of Burlington’s Thermal Energy Charter Change gives us an essential new tool for advancing our work to make Burlington a Net Zero Energy city. I look forward to working with the City Council as we continue on the path toward our bold goal. I am proud of Burlington’s leadership on this effort, and I thank the Burlington and Chittenden County legislative delegations for their work to pass the Charter Change, and thank Governor Scott for signing the bill.” •We are hereby submitting a request for the Council to direct the Charter Committee to amend South Burlington’s charter to include the following power: “To regulate thermal energy systems in residential and commercial buildings, including assessing carbon impact or alternative compliance payments, for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the City. No assessment of carbon impact or alternative compliance payment shall be imposed unless previously authorized by a majority of the legal voters of the City voting on the question at an annual or special City meeting duly warned for that purpose.” Charter Change Request Climate Action ...making South Burlington cleaner, more affordable, healthier, and better prepared for the future. Appendix In a June 3, 2022 memo to the CATF, City staff provided a summary of the Charter Change process: Local level: •State Law provides a specific process for a municipal charter to be amended. (Staff attached a charter change guide prepared by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns). •In addition to the procedure spelled out above, the City of South Burlington has a Charter Committee that is responsible for considering possible amendments to the charter. Procedurally, the City Council tasks the Charter Committee with either a broad or specific charge. The Council, for instance, recently tasked the Charter Committee with reviewing the City’s governance structure and language updates, engaging in a community feedback process, and providing recommendations back to Council by July 2023. •A Committee or Task Force interested in a charter change would first submit a written request to the Council. The Council may place the request on an agenda for consideration and may subsequently approve a charge to the Charter Change Committee to consider and provide a recommendation to the Council. •Following the Charter Committee’s review, the Council may elect to place a proposed charter change before the voters at regular or special election. If the vote passes, the charter change is submitted to the Legislature. Scheduled elections in South Burlington include Town Meeting Day (first Tuesday in March) each year, and State/Federal primaries (August) and State/Federal elections (November) of each even-numbered year. State Level •A locally-approved approved charter amendment may be considered by the Legislature and may be adopted as written, modified, or not adopted. Charter Change Process Burlington FAQs on Charter Change Q: Why is the City pursuing this Charter Change? A: Building energy use is the largest single source of carbon emissions in Burlington. With this Charter Change, the City is asking the State for the authority to assess a carbon impact or alternative compliance fee as an option in regulating thermal energy systems. Then, if the State grants the City this authority by approving this Charter Change, the City would develop a policy proposal and bring it back to Burlington voters to approve through a second vote on a future ballot question. The goal is that the City could use a price-based system like a carbon impact or alternative compliance fee to as an option for regulating buildings –starting with new construction –to ensure that they are designed to use renewable energy for heating, which avoid costly future retrofits and reduce fossil fuel use in Burlington. Q: Why focus on buildings? A: Buildings burn fossil fuels, predominately for heating, hot water, and thermal energy use. Thermal energy represents more than one-quarter of Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions, second only to the transportation sector. Buildings can use renewable fuels such as Burlington’s 100 percent renewable electricity (generated by biomass, hydro, wind, and solar), instead of fossil fuels, to provide heating and hot water to Burlingtonians by using highly efficient technologies such as cold-climate heat pumps. Additionally, other renewable fuels, such as renewable gas, biodiesel, and biomass also can reduce fossil fuel use. Q: Would the Charter Change impose new taxes on homeowners, renters, or businesses? A: No. The Charter Change language does not seek to impose any new taxes or fees. Instead, it asks the State for the authority to assess a carbon impact or alternative compliance fee in the future, as a way for buildings to meet thermal energy system requirements. Any policy change that included the assessment of such a fee would take effect only if approved by Burlingtonians through a future vote. The City’s immediate focus would be on bringing forward such a proposed policy that related to new buildings, not existing buildings. Burlington FAQs on Charter Change Q: Does the Charter Change allow for a carbon tax in Burlington? A: No. The proposed Charter Change does not allow for a carbon tax. Rather Burlington would be asking the State for authority to develop a plan –which City voters would approve through a second vote in the future –to allow building owners to pay an alternative compliance or carbon assessment fee as one way to meet thermal energy system requirements for buildings. The plan would offer alternatives to a fee to meet City policy goals, including upgrading energy efficiency and installing renewable heating and thermal systems in buildings to reduce or eliminate fossil fuel use. Again, the City’s focus currently is on policies related to new, not existing, buildings. Q: Would the Charter Change require Burlingtonians to switch their current heating systems? A: No. The Charter Change does not require such a switch. Rather, it would give the City the authority to develop a proposal to regulate thermal energy systems. Burlington voters would then consider this specific policy proposal in a second, future vote. This policy would be designed to regulate emissions from fossil fuel heating and hot water systems. The City’s first area of focus is to ensure that new buildings are designed to use renewable energy for heating so that these new buildings are compatible with our long-term Net Zero Energy and climate goals, avoiding costly future retrofits and reducing fossil fuel use in Burlington. Q: Where does Burlington's electricity come from? Is it really sustainable? A: In 2014, Burlington became the first city in the country to generate 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy. In 2018 this electricity was generated 34% from biomass, 16% from large hydro, 13.5% from small hydro, 27% from wind, and 1.5% from solar. See the following links for more information on where our electricity comes from,sustainability at the McNeil Generating Station, and BED's local and renewable forestry practices. In 2019, Burlington was named the top city in the Northeastern U.S.and fourth in the country for solar per capita by Environment America, and performed similarly in the 2020 rankings. Burlington FAQs on Charter Change Q: When the City regulates heating systems, will those regulations require the installation of electric heat? Didn’t Burlingtonians switch from electric heat to natural gas a few decades ago? A: The City is not requiring a switch to any particular heating system or encouraging the transition of heating systems to the old, costly, resistance electric heat found in buildings decades ago. Rather, new policy proposals could support switching to modern, efficient renewable heating sources. These sources include high -efficiency, cold climate heat pumps, which hundreds of Burlingtonians already are installing to heat homes and buildings, and which work even at temperatures well below zero degrees. Cold climate heat pumps are far more efficient and less costly to operate than the old resistance electric heat, and, as a bonus, they also provide efficient and reliable air conditioning during our increasingly warm summers. Other renewable options may include efficient electric heating from ground-source heat pumps (already in use at places like Champlain College, the Sustainability Academy, C.P. Smith and J.J. Flynn elementary schools, and the new Hula office complex), modern wood pellet heating, and conventional heating systems utilizing renewable fuels such as renewable gas, biodiesel, or biomass. Q: Will increased electric use increase our electric rates? A: Analysis filed with the Public Utility Commission by Burlington Electric Department as part of its Integrated Resource Plan demonstrates that, while grid upgrades eventually may be needed to reach the Net Zero Energy goals as we electrify our heating and transportation needs, the Net Zero Energy effort, when compared with business as usual, could have a significant, positive economic benefit (in the form of reduced rate pressure) for all Burlington ratepayers. Further, Energy Action Network analysis shows that, for every dollar spent on fossil fuels in Vermont, only a quarter of that money stays in the Vermont economy, while we ship $1.5 billion out-of-state to purchase fossil fuels. In contrast, 62 cents of every dollar spent on electricity stays in the Vermont economy. Therefore, using Burlington’s 100 percent renewable electricity to meet more of our heating and transportation needs offers a unique opportunity to buy local with our energy dollars. Burlington Electric Department 585 Pine Street Burlington, VT 05401 burlingtonelectric.com Phone 802.658.0300 MEMORANDUM To: Burlington City Council From: Darren Springer, General Manager Chris Burns, Director of Energy Services Jen Green, Director of Sustainability and Workforce Development Bill Ward, Director of Permitting & Inspections Patricia Wehman, Housing Division Manager Date: July 18, 2022 Subject: Initial Progress Report on Thermal Charter Change Work/City Council Resolution Relating to Decarbonizing All Buildings in Burlington by 2030 Burlington Electric Department (BED) and Department of Permitting and Inspections (DPI) are pleased to provide this report to update the City Council on our work to-date related to the 5.9.22 Council Resolution to Decarbonize All Buildings in Burlington by 2030. The Resolution is included as an attachment to this memo. Background In September of 2019 BED and the City of Burlington issued the Net Zero Energy Roadmap1, which laid out pathways to achieving Burlington’s ambitious Net Zero Energy 2030 goal. The Roadmap was adopted by the City Council in September 2019, and BED has issued annual updates on emissions progress. 2 While transportation emissions are the largest source of emissions nationally, in Vermont, and in Burlington, the Roadmap distinguished between emissions from Burlington residents travel and the miles traveled in the City by visitors and commuters. The Roadmap primarily accounts for emissions from Burlington residents travel (in or out of the City), because BED and the City have a greater ability to affect those emissions than the emissions from visitors. 1 The Roadmap, produced by Synapse Energy Economics, with transportation sector support from RSG, is available at www.burlingtonelectric.com/nze. 2 the latest update is available here - https://go.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/files/CDSHEU48303A/$file/NZE%202022%20Roadmap%20Update%20- %20Updated.pdf. 2 Due to this distinction, building/thermal emissions (the second largest source of emissions in Vermont and in Burlington) pathways represent a larger share of the Roadmap than transportation emissions. Specifically, 75 percent of the Roadmap’s emissions reduction outlined would come from making buildings more efficient, moving buildings to electrification of thermal loads, and moving buildings to renewable fuel use, including specifically district energy as well as other renewable fuels. The following chart outlines the 4 fossil fuel reduction pathways, starting with building electrification: The Roadmap recognizes that policies at the local, state, and federal levels will have an important role to play, along with incentives and technology development and partnerships in helping Burlington to reach its goals. Of note, the Roadmap specifically calls out the need to enact a policy that would require developers in Burlington to use zero fossil fuels for new construction/major renovation projects.3 The Roadmap also recommends a policy to require buildings to meet or exceed certain efficiency standards, and move to electrification prior to replacing existing fossil fuel thermal equipment.4 In an effort to make progress on the Roadmap recommendations and the Net Zero Energy goal, the Mayor outlined a building emissions reduction proposal5 in October of 2020, with BED, DPI, and the Office of Planning engaged in supporting that effort. The proposal focused on new construction and incorporated the use of carbon pricing. A portion of the proposal was advanced and eventually became the ordinance requirement6 for new construction to use a primary 3 See Net Zero Energy Roadmap, page 37 4 See Net Zero Energy Roadmap, page 41 5 https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/Press/mayor-miro-weinberger-releases-building-electrification-proposal-to-dramatically-reduce- new 6 https://www.burlingtonelectric.com/wp-content/uploads/Signed-CC-Ordinance-Chapter-8.-Building-And-Building-Construction- Addition-of-Article-V.-Heating-Systems-Signed.pdf 3 renewable heating system, capable of serving at least 85 percent of the building’s load, which became effective in September of 2021. The portion of the proposal that addressed carbon pricing was determined to require a charter change, and the City proposed a charter change to allow for greater City authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in buildings, including the use of carbon pricing. Voters approved this Charter Change on Town Meeting Day in 2021 with approximately 65 percent voting in favor. An advisory ballot item (Question 7) during Town Meeting Day 2021 also passed. It recommended “delivering benefits of the transition to clean energy to low- and moderate income Burlingtonians, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, and to otherwise disadvantaged community members.” The Legislature passed the Charter Change during the 2022 session, and the Governor signed it in April of 2022, and it became Act M-9.7 The Charter Change requires that any implementation of a carbon fee would need additional voter approval, and otherwise provides the City with broader authority to regulate emissions in residential and commercial buildings. Following enactment of the Charter Change, the City Council passed, and the Mayor signed, the Resolution Relating to Decarbonizing All Buildings by 2030. It specifically asked BED and DPI to provide recommendations on policies related to new construction, major renovations, city buildings, and large existing commercial buildings. This builds on the work to create the primary renewable heating ordinance for new construction, and the weatherization standards for rental properties, also enacted in 2021. Work to-date BED and DPI note that it has only been approximately two months since the Resolution Relating to Decarbonizing All Buildings by 2030 was enacted, and that in addition to seeking policy recommendations, the Resolution also called for a public education effort on thermal energy use, including potentially summits, town hall meetings, NPA outreach, written materials, and community engagement. The policy recommendations in this area require significant public engagement, research, and consideration of a variety of impacts prior to implementation. With that said, BED and DPI share below our work to-date under this Resolution, our initial thinking relative to policy recommendations, and an outline of additional work and public engagement we plan to undertake. Research BED is fortunate to have the assistance of the Building Electrification Institute (BEI) for this initiative. BEI has also assisted on prior work including the consideration of the primary renewable heating requirement. BEI’s staff includes former municipal officials, and they have provided BED examples of policies in other cold-weather cities, including Denver, Boston, and New York, as part of our initial research. All three cities are in the process of implementing ambitious building energy and emissions policies and programs and engaged in extensive stakeholder and public process around their programs. In particular, we reviewed Boston’s building performance standards which apply to non-residential buildings 20,000 square feet and larger. Boston’s approach is to have reduction requirements on a regular five-year basis, on the path to net zero by 2050. Boston allows for alternative compliance payments that are equivalent to a carbon fee of $234 per ton. Buildings have different types of targets based on their building type, and hardship exemptions are available. Boston is resourcing and staffing this policy program. 7 https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/ACTS/ACTM009/ACTM009%20As%20Enacted.pdf 4 We also reviewed Denver’s policy which combines a building performance standard for buildings above 25,000 square feet, along with a requirement to replace end of life fossil fuel equipment with electrification options (where cost- effective) for all commercial and multi-family buildings. Denver’s goal is a 30 percent improvement in building energy performance by 2030, not a net zero goal. There will be alternative compliance options, as well as prescriptive options for certain buildings to comply in lieu of meeting the performance standard. Denver also will require replacement of end-of-life fossil fuel systems with heat pump systems where cost-effective with an implementation timeframe between 2025-2027. Denver will ensure electric appliance permitting is equivalent to gas to ensure opportunity for electrification. Denver is providing some incentive support to under-resourced buildings to help with compliance and is hiring staff to implement these policy programs. Lastly, we reviewed New York City’s building performance standard which applies to buildings over 25,000 square feet, with some specific prescriptive options for affordable housing to comply. The policy goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity 80 percent by 2050, with five-year target periods that start in 2024. The standard starts with the most emissions intensive buildings and ramp up from there. The penalty for non-compliance is a fee equivalent to $268 per ton of carbon and goes to the NYC general fund. With approximately 60 percent of buildings covered by the policy, there is study of whether carbon trading among buildings could work in the New York City market. Initial Stakeholder Engagement By July 18, BED and DPI will have met with UVM, UVM Medical Center, and Champlain College, organizations that would potentially have a number of buildings impacted by new regulations for large existing commercial buildings. As these entities have many buildings that would be affected, it will be important to work with their leadership on designing achievable goals. BED and DPI appreciate their initial feedback and thoughts and are committed to working with them and other stakeholders as we move forward. In addition, as outlined below, BED and DPI are preparing to engage with the broader community to increase awareness of this policymaking effort, and solicit community feedback. Thoughts on Policy Recommendations BED and DPI reiterate that the policy recommendations below focus on new construction, major renovation, city buildings, and large existing commercial buildings. They would not apply otherwise to existing residential buildings or smaller existing commercial buildings. BED continues to support a clean energy transition for those buildings through strong incentive offerings for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, efficient appliances, induction cooking, and weatherization services in partnership with CVOEO, weatherization providers and Vermont Gas Systems (which runs weatherization programs for the vast majority of Burlington buildings that are connected to gas). Here are some considerations relative to each category: · New Construction: One way to build on the existing primary renewable heating ordinance for new construction buildings would be to look at options to expand renewable energy use in thermal applications across the new building. This could include heating, water heating, cooking, and other thermal uses. The definition of which technologies and fuels count for compliance is important and must be clear and transparent so buildings can comply with confidence and understand fully their options. The definition currently utilized in the primary renewable heating ordinance for what options are available for compliance is a good start and is flexible and inclusive of all renewable energy options, including heat pumps, geothermal, modern wood heating, biodiesel, renewable gas, and district energy. This allows a building developer to utilize a conventional system, provided they have a long-term contract for a renewable fuel. We recommend also including renewably-sourced hydrogen, and exploring with potential buildings and Vermont Gas Systems the options for on-site renewable generation to create renewable hydrogen for thermal applications. We also recommend allowing for inclusion of other renewable 5 energy technologies or fuels that may not yet be commercialized, so they can count toward compliance when available. · Major Renovation: The Departments will examine definitions for what a major renovation constitutes and include a recommendation in the final report. We will consider as well as the limitations of historic buildings for this category. It is possible some of the policy created for new construction could apply to major renovations as well. · City Buildings and Large Existing Commercial Buildings: Options for addressing these buildings include the permit- based approach and a performance standard-based approach discussed in the research section. A permit approach would require that any building in this category use renewable fuels or technologies when pulling a permit to replace an existing fossil fuel thermal system. This is a very prescriptive approach and may be too limiting for our purposes in Burlington. A performance standard approach is less prescriptive and would require a certain percentage reduction in emissions/fossil fuel use within the building by a specific date. We are not prepared to recommend a specific approach yet. If the City ultimately adopted a performance standard approach, one option to create flexibility would be to allow building owners that have multiple buildings that are considered large commercial to take a portfolio approach to meeting the standard, instead of building by building. Another consideration whether any exceptions or limitations should apply to historic buildings or affordable housing, or to certain thermal uses such as process steam which may have limited renewable options. Finally, it must be emphasized that given the short timeframe between 2022 and our 2030 goal, implementation of a performance standard approach should focus on near-term technically and economically achievable progress, with options to adjust the stringency of the standard consistent with technology development and the availability of reasonable cost-effective options for compliance. Cross-Cutting Considerations One major consideration across building categories is whether to include an alternative compliance carbon fee, which may be necessary to allow for compliance while recognizing that not all buildings may have cost-effective and technically achievable options. This alternative compliance method is permitted by the Charter Change and is utilized by New York City and Boston. We note that for Burlington, we have already used carbon pricing (at $100 per ton in 2021 dollars, with an annual inflation adder) as a means of evaluating exemption requests for the primary renewable heating ordinance. A carbon fee alternative compliance option would allow buildings that could not comply with the requirements to pay a fee in lieu of compliance, and would set an economic threshold by which renewable fuels and technologies can be evaluated. The fee could be based on a price per ton of carbon expected to be emitted over the lifetime of the building system. This would require further approval from voters, potentially on Town Meeting Day 2023, prior to implementation. If this option was included, we recommend (to meet the aims of the advisory ballot question), that a portion of the fee proceeds be dedicated to greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the City benefitting “low- and moderate income Burlingtonians, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, and…otherwise disadvantaged community members.” It is possible that a portion of the fee proceeds could also go to additional incentives to further reduce emissions in other buildings owned by the payer of the fee, or for other emissions reduction projects at the payer’s building(s) outside of those regulated (i.e. to support purchase of electric lawn equipment or electric vehicle charging stations). A second important consideration is ensuring that any policy implemented continue to allow buildings to access customer incentive programs, including BED’s various electrification incentives. This would be similar to how our City’s rental weatherization standards allow for buildings to continue to access relevant weatherization incentives. BED has resources to support customers in switching to heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, geothermal heating and cooling, 6 and other measures which reduce fossil fuel use, and those incentives should continue to be accessible for buildings that are subject to City policy development under the Resolution. Next Steps BED and DPI propose the following next steps, with timeline included: · August – September - Broader stakeholder engagement to include additional affected stakeholders (perhaps via a working group that meets regularly), and seek their technical input and feedback; · August-September - Continue research and develop firmer policy recommendations; · September - Host a public forum to seek feedback and ideas from the community on policies to reduce emissions in the buildings specified in the Resolution; · September-October – Discuss policy recommendations at NPAs to seek additional feedback on the suite of proposals; and · End of October - Issue final report to Council, including actionable steps to make additional policy via Ordinance and possibly including recommendations for items that may require voter approval at Town Meeting Day 2023. Conclusion This policymaking effort is a significant undertaking and requires good public process to reach satisfactory results. There is potential for additional buildings emissions policy and regulation to accelerate our community’s progress toward Net Zero Energy. We recognize that building policy should be flexible, inclusive of all renewable technologies and fuels, and cost-effective in achieving emissions reductions. We are fortunate in that a number of large institutions in our community have already made their own major climate commitments, and these policy recommendations should support achieving those goals and Burlington’s climate goals. We are conscious of the advisory question’s focus on achieving equity goals in establishing these regulations and believe one opportunity to do so would be the investment of any alternative compliance fees from these regulations in projects that benefit the members of our community identified in ballot question 7 from Town Meeting Day 2021. We also recognize that the district energy project could, if successful, provide an important additional renewable fuel option for larger existing commercial buildings, and as structured could allow other buildings (including City buildings) that are not physically connected to the system to purchase renewable credits from the district energy project. BED and DPI staff appreciate the opportunity to provide this report to the Council and look forward to continuing to engage in this important work along the timeline outlined above.