HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 06/02/2016 South Burlington Energy Commi ee
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Adopted Mee ng Minutes
June 2, 2016
Committee members present: Don Cummings, Keith Epstein (Chair), Marcy Murray (Scribe), Patty Tashiro
Committee members absent: Fred Kosnitsky, Karen Mckenny, Linda McGinnis, Sam Swanson, Thor Vue
Community members present: Tom Chittenden (City Council)
City staff present: None
Initial business
Without a quorum, the committee was unable to vote on motions.
Public Input
Tom asked whether the committee had looked into more efficient trash removal options for the city. Although
we have not yet worked on this issue, members acknowledged the inherent inefficiencies of having multiple
companies with numerous gas-guzzling trucks circling the same neighborhoods to gather trash and recycling.
Act 148—the recently passed universal recycling and composting law—will likely aggravate the existing
situation. Patty shared that the Queen City Park neighborhood had addressed the current issue by hiring one
company (at a discounted rate) to perform all trash and recycling removal services.
Group net metering and solar-credit sharing
The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) has agreed to participate in our Rosanne-
Greco-inspired “sharing sunshine” test by confidentially providing Green Mountain Power (GMP) account
number and electric usage data for a client with low income who would like to join a net-metering group in
order to receive a solar generator’s unusable expiring solar credits. While GMP does not offer an option to
easily and efficiently accomplish the latter, our potential solar donor has been considering using GMP’s
percentage method, i.e., where she would share a percentage of her monthly solar incentive and any excess net
solar credits—in addition to a one-time transfer of expiring credits that she doesn’t think she’ll be able to use.
Sam and Marcy’s in-depth initial analysis suggests that it may not be in the best interests of our potential solar
donor to share her power because of increased electric usage associated with a recent heat pump installation. A
final determination will likely be made next week. Committee members had a detailed discussion related to the
complexities of calculating net-metering credits.
South Burlington Energy Prize (SBEP) logo usage
A Coldwell Banker and Sterling Construction ad included the SBEP logo without our prior approval. Given that
only partners, i.e., organizations in our solar consortium or that support us financially, are authorized to use the
logo, Keith has contacted Sterling Construction to explore their becoming a partner (Coldwell Banker is a
partner). There was limited committee interest in creating procedures for future non-partner requests to use the
logo.
South Burlington Energy Prize Updates
Members shared key accomplishments, next steps, and requests for assistance as Keith scrolled through the pre-
meeting written project update summary. Treasurer’s report: Marcy reported that after the latest Hagan invoice
is processed, we will have $16,692.11 on hand ($0 in the General Fund and $16,692.11 in the Energy Prize
Reserve Fund).
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m.
Next Scheduled Meeting: Thursday, July 7th, at 6:30 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the South Burlington
Police Station (19 Gregory Drive • middle entrance)
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