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9.2. SR 05-16-2016City of Elk az — River Request for Action To Item Number Mayor and City Council 9.2 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Work Session May 16, 2016 Kristin Mroz, Environmental Technician Item Description Reviewed by Climate -Smart Municipalities Cal Portner, City Administrator Reviewed by Action Requested Review Climate -Smart Municipalities partnership acceptance and discuss delegates. Background/Discussion This year, the city had the opportunity to apply for the Climate Smart Municipalities partnership. The international exchange program is part of the German government's Transatlantik-Programm and partners five Minnesota cities with five award-winning German cities to work collaboratively on climate -smart energy projects. The Transatlantik-Programm is part of the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program), a US -sponsored program designed to rebuild the economies of 17 European countries after World War II. The Minnesota partnership received a 3 year grant to fund this particular program. Elk River, along with the cities of Duluth, Rochester, Morris, and Warren, were selected from eight applicants. The German partners from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have not yet been selected but each city will pair up with a similar German counterpart for a three-year correspondence. The program aims to apply university research to solve energy-related environmental challenges on the ground. The project includes partners such as the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment and Natural Resources Research Institute, Germany's Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature Protection and Consumer Institute in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the Great Plains Institute, Ever -Green Energy, and the Minnesota Credit Union Network. Two representatives from each Minnesota city will travel to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from July 3-10, 2016, to tour energy facilities and work with their partner community to develop strategies for meeting the state goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at least 30% below 2005 levels by 2025, while boosting the local economy. The delegation from Minnesota will have 20-25 members including officials from EQB (Will Seuffert), MPCA (Commissioner Linc Stine [tbc]); private sector partners Ever - Green Energy (Ken Smith), MN Credit Union Network (Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union CFO Brian Volkmann); nonprofit Great Plains Institute (Abby Finis); University of Minnesota representatives (Natural Resources Research Center: Rolf Weberg. Institute on the Environment: Lewis Gilbert, Sabine Engel). The German communities will send representatives to Minnesota in September of 2016. P a w E R E U 6 Y NaA f RE] Financial Impact The cost of the program is covered by the grant. The only cost to the city is the cost of airfare for the two delegates (currently $1,000-$2,000 per person, round trip). Attachments ■ Application Two Page Description ■ Statement of Support City of Elk River Climate -Smart Project March 21, 2016 The City of Elk River aspires to become a climate -smart municipality. Some of the goals to achieve this are outlined in the Energy City 10 -year Action Plan. These project ideas are essential for our community to become energy resilient in a climate changing atmosphere, and to maintain competitiveness in our business culture and residential way -of -life. Background Under Goal 3: Showcase Ideas of Energy City, the Energy City Action Plan has the objective of "Identify and promote renewable energy resources." Although the tasks listed are not entirely inclusive of all possible actions, the tasks listed are higher priority and often more difficult to achieve. Objective High Priority Action Tasks Identify and promote renewable energy Explore neighborhood energy systems (PV resources Systems, Water Collection Systems) and make a plan for improvements by 2024 Explore District Heating Systems and make a plan for development by 2024 Achieve 15% above State/Federal mandates of renewable energy city-wide by 2024 These goals, objectives, and tasks have been approved by the Energy City Commission and the Elk River City Council. These steps make logical sense for a Climate -Smart Municipality Project partnership. Many larger communities and universities in Minnesota and the United States are capable of achieving such actions but the complexities involved makes some tasks difficult to research, plan for, develop, maintain, and assess for smaller communities. The City of Elk River has not yet explored these three tasks or developed baseline assessments. Project Descriptions Explore Neighborhood Energy Systems This project involves small scale renewable energy systems located in regional settings throughout the community. Systems may include community solar, water collection, biomass energy, geothermal heating and cooling, sewer heat collection, etc. These systems would be integrated into the local community by the city, a private contractor, and/or the municipal utility. Explore District Heating Systems District Heating Systems are a side project of Neighborhood Energy Systems. Any residual heat from energy projection or collection of renewable heating would be captured at a local scale for 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 Phone: 763.635.1000 Fax: 763.635.1090 www.ElkRiverMN.gov P O M E R E O e r NWUR neighborhood use. These systems would most likely be a city project with collaboration from the Elk River Municipal Utilities and possible the downtown association or individual businesses. Achieve 15% Above State/Federal Mandates of Renewable Energy City -Wide Currently, Minnesota requires our utility to achieve 25% renewable energy by 2025. This task would look to achieve the utility's goal plus an additional 15% across city and private installations of solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable technologies. The utility is currently just above 9% renewables. Questions to Consider Are these projects feasible in Elk River? Are they feasible to complete prior to 2024? What location would best be utilized for development and distribution? What communities have implemented these projects to date? What costs may be associated with these projects? What resources and funding opportunities exist for finances? Do the paybacks for these projects make economic sense for our community? How much carbon can we reduce by implementing these projects? Community Involvement Renewable energy resources affect the entire community. By using clean energy, our air quality improves. Xcel Energy's 2,222 MW Sherco Coal plant is located not far from Elk River city limits. Although we have not had air quality exceedances, this fuel source inevitably affects our community. In addition, producing locally sourced renewable energy allows for energy independence, unlike coal, that is mostly imported from other states. In the case of continued climate change, having locally produced energy is also beneficial for climate resilience in times of power outages due to natural disasters or increased energy demands. The City of Elk River also has two major highway thoroughfares (Highways 10 and 169) that see large amounts of traffic in the community. By converting our energy sources to clean energy, we can further improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as we wait for cleaner vehicle fuels. Elk River has the unique opportunity of having our own Elk River Municipal Utilities who reports to City Council. This provides the prospects of increased integration with utility scale infrastructure and programs and education on electricity, water, and solid waste. These projects would be a part of the community, utilizing community input and desired outcomes as a part of the planning processes. The goal would be to educate the community on the project design, development, and usage and create projects that are highly desired and capable of being used permanently in the future. Other Projects to Consider Transportation — Electric Vehicle Integration Small Scale Dam Retrofit for Energy Production Bio -digester Opportunity of ver March 21, 2016 Dr. Sabine Engel University of Minnesota - Institute of the Environment 1954 Buford Avenue 325 LES Building St. Paul, MN 55108 Dr. Engel, The City of Elk River is submitting a proposal for the "Climate -Smart Municipalities: Modeling Integrated Energy Communities for the 21" Century in Minnesota and Germany" through the University of Minnesota Institute for the Environment and the German state of North Rhine- Westphalia. As a part of the application process, we are including this statement confirming our commitment to the following: 1. The City of Elk River will make available funding for two members of the city's leadership to participate in the summer delegation to Germany in each of the three project years. This willinclude the transatlantic airfare, estimated at about $1,800/person/year. 2. The City of Elk River will conduct regular virtual meetings with the municipal project twin in Germany. 3. The City of Elk River will connect with experts and researchers at the University of Minnesota to accelerate our community's progress toward a lower carbon footprint. 4. The City of Elk River will share findings and experiences with other Minnesota communities at Minnesota forum events. 5. The City of Elk River will designate one individual to provide continuity across all three project years and participate in each year's delegation. a. Kristin Mroz, Environmental Technician If selected, the City of Elk River will be committed to these requirements and maintain flexibility in other program changes and challenges. Sincerely, Kristin Mroz Environmental Technician 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 Phone: 763.635.1000 Fax: 763.635.1090 www.ElklbverNfN.gov Cal Portner City Administrator P011RE1 IY NATURd �Af-dc,tj g, 0, 5- i ('0 l( 3 -Jul Sunday Duesseldorf Arrival Day 4 -Jul Monday Duesseldorf Topics: Germany's energy transition, integrated approaches, NRW climate communities and Euopean Energy Award Site Visit: Lausward combined cycle gas fired power plant Site Visit: Dortmund 5 -Jul Tuesday Saerbeck Travel: Duesseldorf to Saerbeck Topics: Wind+Solar+Biomass, district energy, education and citizen involvement, meet mayor and council, NRW Agency Partners 5 -Jul Wednesday Saerbeck Topics: In depth planning, finance tools, involvement with farmers discussion 7 -Jul Thursday Soest Travel: Saerbeck to Soest Topics: climate friendly new homes, city traffic, district heating, municipal utility 8 -Jul Friday Rural Communities around Soest Travel: around Soest Soest at night Topics: renewable energy, agrictulture Site Visit: NRW Chamber of Agriculture research and training center 9 -Jul Saturday Duesseldorf Travel: Soest to Dusseldorf Topics: Roundtable discussion on next steps 10 -Jul Sunday Depature Department Anytime