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Home My WebLink About2013/04/16 Item 06- - CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT ~~ ... .~~~ ..! ~~~ CITY OF CHULA VISTA ~4/I6/13,Item ITEM TITLE: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING PARTICIPATION IN A STATEWIDE GRANT APPLICATION IN RESPONSE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S ROOFTOP SOLAR CHALLENGE II AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS IN CONJ[JNCTION WITH IMPLEMENT THE GRANT AGREEMENT SUBMITTED BY: DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATIVE ERVIC S REVIEWED BY: CITY MANAGER ASSISTANT CITY MA GER 4/STHS VOTE: YES ~ NO ~X SUMMARY - The Department of Energy is requesting proposals under its Rooftop Solaz Challenge II program to help reduce the "soft costs" associated with solar photovoltaic systems. Over the last yeaz, City staff has been collaborating with the California Center for Sustainable Energy under a Rooftop Solar Challenge I grant to help local governments identify administrative bamers to local rooftop solar photovoltaic installations and develop solutions through permitting, zoning, and fmancing processes. The City is now being asked to participate in a proposed "Golden State Solaz Impact" project under the Rooftop Solar Challenge II program. If awarded, the grant would provide $15,000 to support City staff time participating in regional working groups and implementing best practices. The project. helps support the City Council-approved Climate Mitigation Measure #5 ("Encourage energy efficiency & solar energy in the community.") ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The Development Services Director has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines, because the activity consists of an administrative action involving the submittal of a grant 6-1 04/16/13, Item ~o Page 2 of 3 application which will not result in a direct or indirect adverse physical impact to the environment. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no further environmental review is necessary. Consideration of environmental factors will be done once a specific project is defined and funded. RECOMMENDATION Council adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION UPDATE'S AFTER '`4/8 - At their April 8`~ meeting, the Resource Conservation Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council approve Chula Vista's participation in the "Golden State Solaz Impact" project and submittal of the corresponding Rooftop Solaz Challenge Phase II grant application. _ - DISCUSSION The Department of Energy's (DOE) Rooftop Solar Challenge is a national SunShot initiative to make solaz energy technologies more cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing its costs by 75% before 2020. Specifically, the federal program is designed to provide funds to local governments and regional partners in order to significantly reduce the administrative or "soft" -costs associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. By reducing the administrative burden, adoption of solar PV by residents and businesses will be simpler, faster, and more cost-effective. Over the last yeaz, the City of Chula Vista has been collaborating with the California Center for Sustainable Energy (GCSE) and 11 other jurisdictions across San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties under the DOE-funded Rooftop Solaz Challenge I. The regional effort has focused on four action areas that aze'critical for solaz mazket growth in Southern California: (1) standazdizing permitting and interconnection processes, (2) updating planning and zoning codes, (3) improving interconnection and net metering standards, and (4) increasing access to financing. As a result of Chula Vista's participation, City staff has been able to successfully develop a centralized "all things solaz" webpage, revise its solaz array zoning guidance, work to help low-income families receive free solaz PV systems, and issue a RFP for a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program. The City of Chula Vista has now been asked to participate in a statewide grant proposal, led by GCSE, under the DOE Rooftop Solaz Challenge II program. The proposed "Golden State Solaz Impact" project would continue to help local jurisdictions better facilitate solar PV installations through permitting and financing process improvements. If awarded, the grant would provide the City of Chula Vista with up to $15,000 to support staffs participation in regional working groups and implementation of best practices. The City would provide an equal amount of in-kind staff support as part of the project, which would be covered by existing departmental budgets. 6-2 4/16/13, Item ~ Page 2 of 3 application which will not result in a direct or indirect adverse physical impact to the environment. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no further enviromnental review is required. Consideration of environmental factors will be done once a specific project is defined and funded. RECOMMENDATION Council adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION At their April 8`" meeting, the Resource Conservation Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council approve Chula Vista's participation in the "Golden State Solaz Impact" project and submittal of the corresponding Rooftop Solar Challenge Phase II grant application. DISCUSSION The Department of Energy's (DOE) Rooftop Solar Challenge is a national SunShot initiative to make solaz energy technologies more cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing its costs by 75% before 2020. Specifically, the federal program is designed to provide funds to local governments and regional partners in order to significantly reduce the administrative or "soft" costs associated with solaz photovoltaic (PV) systems. By reducing the administrative burden, adoption of solar PV by residents and businesses will be simpler, faster, and more cost-effective. Over the last year, the City of Chula Vista has been collaborating with the California Center for Sustainable Energy (GCSE) and 11 other jurisdictions across San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties under the DOE-funded Rooftop Solaz Challenge I. The regional effort has focused on four action azeas that aze critical for solar mazket growth in Southern California: (1) standardizing permitting and interconnection processes, (2) updating planning and zoning codes, (3) improving interconnection and net metering standazds, and (4) increasing access to financing. As a result of Chula Vista's participation, City staff has been able to successfully develop a centralized "all things solar" webpage, revise its solaz array zoning guidance, work to help low-income families receive free solar PV systems, and issue a RFP for a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program. The City of Chula Vista has now been asked to participate in a statewide grant proposal, led by GCSE, under the DOE Rooftop Solar Challenge II program. The proposed "Golden State Solar Impact" project would continue to help local jurisdictions better facilitate solar PV installations through permitting and financing process improvements. If awarded, the grant would provide the City of Chula Vista with up to $15,000 to support staffs participation in regional working groups and implementation of best practices. The City would provide an equal amount of in-kind staff support as part of the project, which would be covered by existing departmental budgets. 6-3 4/16/13, Item ~a Page 3 of 3 Due to the DOE Rooftop Solaz Challenge II program's aggressive application deadline, the City Manager submitted an initial Letter of Commitment to participate in the "Golden State Solaz Impact" project on February 27~'. However, City staff is now seeking formal City Council approval to participate in the project and to receive the funding, if awarded the federal grant. The proposed project supports Chula Vista's greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts and specifically helps to implement the City Council-approved Climate Mitigation Measure #5 ("Encourage energy efficiency & solaz energy in the community.") DECISION MAKER CONFLICT Staff has determined that the recommendations requiring Council action aze not site specific and consequently the 500 foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1) is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, nor has staff been informed by any City Councilmember, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter. CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT The proposed grant project would not create a negative impact to the City's General Fund. If awazded, the grant would provide $15,000 in Fiscal Yeaz 2014 to the City to fund related staff time and travel. The matching funds required for the grant ($15,000 total) would be through in-kind staff time supported by existin>? Departmental budgets. ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT The proposed grant project would not create any ongoing net impact to the City's General Fund. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A -Golden State Solaz Impact Project -Proposal Summary H:\PUBLIC WORKS- ENGWGENDA\CAS2013\04-16-13\DOE SunSho[ II Grant Applicazion_CAS_FMAL.doc 6-4 f~TTACHMENT i~Y`*y Center for 9325 Sky Park Court main 858.244.1177 ./' ">r'd~ Suite 100 faz 858.244.1178 ~~ Sustainable Energy San Diego, CA 92123 www.energycentecorg ~ CALtFOKfvIA CCSE Partnership Proposal- Golden State Solar Impact Rooftop Solar Challenge II Background The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is developing a California response to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Rooftop Solar Challenge Phase II. The Challenge is a two and a half year, up to $12 million effort focused on reducing the non-hazdwaze balance of system costs for customer-sited, rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. This effort builds off of Phase I, in which the US Department of Energy's (DOE) initiated the first concerted effort to address soft costs on a nationwide level, with four awarded teams selected in California. In both phases, DOE is seeking to reduce these costs by achieving cross jurisdictional streamlining and standardization of requirements associated with: • Permitting and Interconnection Processes • Net Metering and Interconnection Standazds • Financing Options • Planning and Zoning Committed Partners The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is applying fot the Wide Area Impact Awazd of Phase II to fund unique and innovative approaches to local solar market transformation. Committed partners include all four RSC Phase I California awazdees- CCSE, Contra Costa Economic Partnership (CCEP), Optony, and SolarTech, with support from the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR). Team Structure To achieve the goals of reducing PV soft costs, each RSC partner will focus on a specific target area - permitting, financing, interconnection, and assessment - to drive implementation of best practices identified in RSC Phase I. This approach allows Phase I functional experts with proven successes in a specific action azea to expand the scope of their success by coordinating implementation with regional leads across the state. Concurrently, regional leads will leverage the relationships fostered in Phase I to ensure that these innovative approaches aze taken in the context of local environments, with the ultimate goal of creating streamlined, consistent processes across the state. Focus Areas i. Assessment, Data and Communication • Optony will enhance their existing "Solaz Roadmap" tool to provide astep-by-step plan for jurisdictions to adopt best practices, as well as online tracking of progress towards the streamlining and soft cost reduction goals. • The interactive, online platform allows jurisdictions and utilities to view all the goals, activities, and resources which have been provided for them as part of their participation in the RSCII initiative. 6-5 ~ Center for ~'~.''SustainabCe Energy ~ C.AL1FORtii,~4 2. Focus Area: Permitting 9325 Sky Park Court main 858.244.1177 Suite 100 fax 858.244.1178 San Diego, CA 92123 www.energycentecorg Contra Costa Economic Partnership (CCEP) will work with AHJs to roll out Solaz FasTrac tool, an online permitting system and interactive PDF submittal package that provides a flexible and standazdized approach for local jurisdictions. Work with the twenty local ICC chapters and CALBO to educate and train building officials about these new tools and standazds. 3. Focus Area: Financing • SolazTech will create tools that inform stakeholders on best practices for expanding financing options and facilitating the implementation of more programs statewide. • The team will evaluate the viability of a statewide revolving loan loss reserve progam, expansion of IOU Feed-in Taziff programs, and community solar options. 4. Focus Area: Interconnection • CCSE will develop a detailed Software Requirements Specification for a statewide web- based interconnection database to initiate, process, and report on interconnection activities. • CCSE will work to adopt favorable Net Energy Metering and Interconnection standazds amongst California utilities. Participation Requirements Tn order to participate, jurisdictions must: • Complete a formal on-boarding process as well as a quantitative assessment at the beginning and end of the project period; • Engage with the statewide team to work through implementation of permitting and financing tools; • Provide input into roll out of FastTrac permitting tool; working to adopt relevant components of the FastTrac tool in your jurisdiction by June 2015. • Champion the implementation of improvements within their organizations; It1 exchange, Jurisdictions wi1L receive: • Technical and logistical support from our experts in permitting, data and financing. • Educational opportunities related to solaz implementation best practices; • Tracking and reporting of their current solaz permitting and inspection processes; • Recognition from Governor's Office and Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Next Steps If your jurisdiction is interested in participating in this proposal, please contact Tamara Gishri, CCSE Regional Program Manager of the Rooftop Solaz Challenge, at tamara.cishri~u en~center.org or (818) 687-3064. Interested parties should inform CCSE no later than COB Monday February 18, 2013. Once a jurisdiction has expressed interest in participating they must provide a letter of commitment from their respective chief elected official, due no later than Fridav. Mazch 1, 2013. The letter of commitment must spell out a cost share commitment consisting of cash or in-kind contributions (e.g. existing staff time). A template will be provided. We look forward to heazing from you and beginning work on this exciting opportunity. 6-6 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING PARTICIPATION IN A STATEWIDE GRANT APPLICATION IN RESPONSE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S ROOFTOP SOLAR CHALLENGE II AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH IMPLEMENTING THE GRANT AGREEMENT WHEREAS, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Rooftop Solar Challenge is a national SunShot initiative to make solar energy technologies more cost-competitive with other forms of energy; and WHEREAS, the Rooftop Solar Challenge is specifically designed to provide funds to local governments and regional partners in order to significantly reduce the administrative or "soft" costs associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems; and WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has been collaborating with the California Center for Sustainable Energy (GCSE) and 11 other jurisdictions under the Rooftop Solar Challenge I to identify local administrative barriers and develop solutions for encouraging rooftop solar photovoltaic installations; and WHEREAS, Chula Vista, as a result, has been able to successfully develop a centralized "all things solar" webpage, revise its solar array zoning guidance, work to help low-income families receive free solar PV systems, and issue a RFP for a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program; and WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has now been asked to participate in a statewide grant proposal, led by GCSE, under the DOE Rooftop Solar Challenge II program to continue to help local jurisdictions better facilitate solar PV installations through permitting and financing process improvements; and WHEREAS, the proposed "Golden State Solar Impact" project supports Chula Vista's greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts and specifically helps to implement the City Council- approved Climate Mitigation Measure #5. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby resolve as follows: That it approves participation in the statewide grant proposal, led by the California Center for Sustainable Energy, in response to the Department of Energy's Rooftop Solar Challenge II. 6-7 Resolution No. Page 2 That it authorizes the City Manager, or his designee, to execute all documents with implementing the grant. Presented by Richazd A. Hopkins Director of Public Works Approved as to form by ~L- G _ `7 Glen R. Goggins City Attorney 6-8