February ECC Packet
Special Meeting
of the
Energy City
Commission
AGENDA
Wednesday February 27, 2019
8:30 a.m.
Elk River City Hall
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. CONSIDER AGENDA
4. CONSENT AGENDA
Considered to be routine and noncontroversial by the City Council and will be approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of
these items unless a Councilmember, staff member, or citizen so requests, in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and
considered under the regular agenda.
4.1 Minutes
November 28, 2018 Meeting Minutes
5. GENERAL BUSINESS
5.1 New member introduction and member updates
5.2 Elections of Office
5.3 GRE update
5.4 10-year Action Plan: updates including renewable energy and Hometown Solar
5.5 CSM – video competition and other projects
5.6 Energy policy update - CIP and RES
5.7 Hometown Solar Grant update
6. NEXT MEETING AGENDA ITEMS (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)
7. ADJOURNMENT
This agenda is available in alternate formats upon a 72 hour advanced notice. Auxiliary aids and services are also available upon a 72 hour
advanced notice. Please contact the City Clerk at 763. 635.1000 to make a request. Examples of alternate formats may include: large print,
Braille, audio tape, etc. Examples of auxiliary aids may include a sign language interpreter, assistive listening device, etc.
Meeting Protocol
No sidebar discussions
No interruptions
State your concern
Ensure you understand
Don’t take things personally
Adhere to time limits
Come prepared
Ensure all are heard
Meeting of the Elk River
Energy City Commission
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Members Present: Chair Tom Sagstetter, Commissioners Paula Bernard, Aaron, Brixius,
Henry Griner, Glenn Hauck, Jason Hoskins and Jerry Olsen
Members Absent: Anne Anderson, Trish Curtis, Harley Hanson and Matt Herman
Staff Present: Amanda Bednar, Environmental Coordinator and Colleen Eddy,
Economic Development Specialist
1. Call Meeting to Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Energy City
Commission was called to order by Sagstetter at 8:31 a.m.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Sagstetter led the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Consider Agenda
Sagstetter added the Oath of Office for Member Brixius to item 5.1. Motion to
approve agenda, moved by Hauck and seconded by Bernard to approve.
4. Consider Minutes
One minor grammatical error was mentioned. Moved by Hoskins and seconded by
Bernard to approve the minutes from the August 15, 2018 Energy City Commission
meeting.
5.1 New member introduction and member updates
This was the first meeting for Aaron Brixius; all members introduced themselves and
provided a brief bio. This is Council member Olsen’s last meeting as he did not seek
reelection to City Council in 2019. The new staff liaison has not yet been assigned to
the ECC. Olsen said he was pleased with how things have progressed on the
Commission over the past year and appreciated weekly updates to be shared with
City Council. He felt the mission of the ECC is now more clear. Sagstetter provided
an update about recent events including a successful outreach program at the farmers
market this summer as part of Drive Electric Week. He estimated about 130 people
stopped by the booth to talk casually about electric vehicle and opportunities from
ERMU. A video is being produced for ERMU for their grant that centers on electric
vehicles. Changes will be made to the fees for public chargers in Elk River in 2019
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based on time of use and connection fees will be eliminated starting in 2019. Fees for
2019 services rates will be approved in early December.
5.2 GRE memo to Council and update
The ECC’s memo that was written in September was on the Consent Agenda at City
Council on November 19, 2018. That same night a company called Enerkem
presented a concept review about potential use for the GRE RDF plant to create a
biodiesel from solid waste. As for November 20, 2018 GRE has announced plans to
close the RDF project in Elk River and has begun making plans to stop accepting
MSW. Hauck expressed great admiration to Sherburne County to keep the
conversation about potential public ownership of the project moving but ultimately
they could not take on the project without the support of other counties. He also
shared that 2018 was a record setting year for GRE in Elk River for production.
They are currently on a path to closure and plan to send out a notice of intent to bid
and request for proposals in the near future, ideally keeping all three sites as one
package.
5.3 10-year Action Plan department info and priorities for 2019
City staff is working to gather information from all city departments on the various
items in the Action Plan as a recap for 2018. This information will eventually be
shared with Council. The goal is to keep Energy City as a prominent part in the
branding for Elk River. Moving forward in 2019, the Action Plan will continue to be
a guiding document for future goals and projects. The group discussed finding some
focus and possibly looking for external funding for projects that may come up.
5.4 Clean Up Day recap
The City’s fall Clean Up Day event was very successful again this year with over 400
cars coming through to recycle and dispose of various materials. The event is funded
through SCORE funding from Sherburne County and the city is reimbursed for
disposal costs for waste taken to GRE. This may change in 2019 if waste is taken to
the landfill or elsewhere. Organics recycling in Elk River will likely change as well
with GRE closing. The group discussed other options for organics including
reaching out to current participants to get their feedback about a drop site or other
options. Jason, Tom, Glenn and Matt volunteered to help Amanda with this issue
and provide input to help continue the program for organics collection.
5.5 Climate Smart Municipalities 2019 program
The schedule for the 2019 CSM program is set with the Germans visiting Minnesota
June 8-15 and Minnesotans going to NRW September 20-28. The focus in Elk River
will likely be trash with the closure of GRE.
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5.6 Solar picnic table progress
Modern Construction has agreed to help with the design and construction of the
solar picnic table. There have been some delays this fall with scheduling and
availability but we are hopeful it will be completed in 2019. More to come soon.
5.7 Builder/developer meeting – winter 2019
The goal for the meeting in winter 2019 is to bring together key players for new
construction, remodeling, home improvement and other vendors that often work
with the City of Elk River. The idea is to provide valuable information all in one
place to make the permitting process easier, ensure there is understanding about
regulations and have Energy City as the focus on these topics. This could include
energy efficiency, load management and other sustainable practices. The hope is to
bring together various city departments and external agencies. The city is also getting
new permitting software that may make the application process easier and have more
electronic options. ERMU has a handout they provide with items to be completed
(checklist) for specific types of development. The event would include information
sharing but also allow for feedback from developers, contractors and others. The
group discussed partnering with a local group like the Chamber of Commerce. The
workshop could vary in timing depending on topics and available staff. The group
felt it was important to get feedback and possibly utilize technology to do so. Brixius
suggested using Kahoot an online survey used on smart phones. Presentations could
be available online too before the workshop. Colleen Eddy mentioned that
Economic Development’s relator meeting includes continuing education credits
which are very appealing to those attending. Tom plans to organize a meeting in
early December with city staff to keep this project moving.
6. Next Meeting Agenda Items (February 20, 2019)
Trash, recycling and organics update
Builder/Developer meeting
Brainstorming session for 2019 projects based on Action Plan potentially for 2020,
discuss funding options and more
LOST projects- how to involve Energy City (ISI: Institute For Sustainable
Infrastructure could be beneficial guidelines)
7. Announcements
None
8. Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
Minutes prepared by Amanda Bednar.
4
___________________ ____________________
Tina Allard, City Clerk Tom Sagstetter, Chair
Energy City Commission
Energy Video Competition – Call for Videos
Climate-Smart Municipalities (CSM), a partnership between the State of Minnesota, United States and North Rhine-
Westphalia, Germany, pairs municipalities to accelerate progress toward a cleaner and more efficient energy footprint.
Since 2015, selected municipalities have sent delegation members to their partner communities to collaborate on the
energy transition and climate-smart actions.
As a part of their work, CSM partners agree that community education is required for a clean energy transition.
Therefore, the partnership is hosting an Energy Video Competition for students in each community.
Goal: To educate students about energy savings, energy waste, and energy behavior and to use their knowledge to
share their knowledge with family, friends, and the community.
Video Theme: Energy savings/waste, energy generation, and climate in the world around me
Eligibility:
o 1 or more schools in each community selected by the city
o 1 or more classes (grades 9-12 or ages 13-18) selected by the city
o The teacher and/or school must agree to participate
o The students must participate in at least 1 lesson plan in partnership with the city
Content:
1 video produced (standards by YOUTUBE: MOV / MPEG4 / MP4 / AVI / WMV / MPEGPS / FLV / 3GPP)
3 minutes maximum, 2 min minimum
Video produced by cell phone or similar (no professional equipment required)
Students should use what is already available to them. Spend no money to produce the video (no professional
filmmaker, software purchase, props or other materials purchased, paid actors, etc.)
Language: English or German (please translate the script into the other language so that the text can be included
in the video description)
Videos can be produced by a group of students or by a single student
Content must comply with the YouTube Community Guidelines and Terms of Service (YouTube is not a sponsor
of this contest. Users must release YouTube from any and all liability related to this contest.)
Privacy Notice: Any personal data by competition applicants will only be used for competition communication purposes.
No personal data will be collected by voters.
Submissions:
Videos must be submitted to We Transfer at https://wetransfer.com
o Send to Kristin.mroz-risse@state.mn.us
o Add a message that includes:
School Name
City Name
The names of each student participant
Translated text of the script
o Submit the video by May 10, 2019
Winners:
Winners will be announced on May 31, 2019. Winners will be selected based on number of views on their YouTube
video and a CSM jury made of delegates that are not associated with a participating city will review the content quality,
creativeness, student performance, and quality of production. Prizes will be awarded to the winners during the summer
months of 2019 by the CSM delegation members.
1st prize – A class trophy for the school. T-shirts for all student participants and teacher.
2nd prize – A class trophy for the school.
3rd prize – A class trophy for the school.
Timeline
Action Steps Due Date
Class participation School agrees to patriciate and partnership with CSM Starting January 15, 2019
Class participates in at least 1 energy lesson May 1, 2019
Video production Video created and posted into We Transfer May 10, 2019
Video to be posted online by CSM May 15, 2019
Voting Promote your video online with friends, family, and the community May 15 – May 29, 2019
Voting ends May 29, 2019
Winners Winners announced May 31, 2019
Deliver Prizes To Be Determined. When
visiting NRW or MN in 2019
Contact for Question:
Kristin Mroz
State of Minnesota
Kristin.mroz-risse@state.mn.us
+1 651-757-2793
Max Schüssler
Uiversität Siegen
max.schuessler@uni-siegen.de
+49 (0) 271 740-4664
Acknowledgements: CSM has a number of partners and supporters
Project Lead
Sabine Engel, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota
Cities
Warren – Arnsberg
Duluth – Siegen
Morris – Saerbeck
Elk River – Iserlohn
Rochester – Münster
White Bear Lake - Ludenscheid
Partners
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie
Ministerium für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft, Natur- und
Verbraucherschutz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
University of Minnesota Natural Resources Research
Institute
Minnesota Department of Administration
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Great Plains Institute
Ever-Green Energy
Minnesota Credit Union Network
Learn more about Climate-Smart Municipalities
Website: http://environment.umn.edu/grant/climate-smart-municipalities/
Facebook: @climatesmartmunicipalities
Watch a video to learn more about the partnership: https://www.tpt.org/climate-smart-cities-working-together/
Hometown Solar Grant Program
Schedule
The following outlines the expected schedule for the
2019 Hometown Solar Grant Program.
• January 15, 2019: Grant Applications DUE
• March 15, 2019: Grants Awarded
• Spring/Summer 2019: Construct Solar Installations
Benefits of Program
The Hometown Solar Program provides the following
benefits:
• Educational asset for students and community
• On-site and locally produced renewable energy
• Offset electrical load
Energy Education in the Classroom
To support learning opportunities in the classroom,
data from the Hometown Solar installation will be
available online. In addition to lesson plan concepts
prepared by MMPA, the following information is
expected to be available to educators and students:
• Current Power Value (kW)
• Daily Energy Values (kWh)
• Historical Energy Values (Day/Week/Month/Year/
Lifetime)
• Weather (Temp, Cloud Cover, Wind, Humidity,
Sunrise/Sunset)
• Charting and Analysis Reporting
• Individual Panel Review/Assessment
Contact Information: Lauren Blank
Energy Education Program Manager
(Lauren.Blank@AvantEnergy.com), 612-349-6868
The Hometown Solar Grant Program provides schools
and other MMPA educational facilities (i.e. community
centers or libraries) with the opportunity to apply for
a ~5 kW solar installation. Project costs associated
with the design, procurement, construction and
commissioning of the solar installation will be
covered under this Program.
Qualifications
To qualify, the facility must meet the following
requirements:
• Facility must be located within a MMPA member
community’s service territory
• Proposed property has land availability to install a
5kW solar installation (ground mounted)
- Ideal sites are south facing, no/minimal
shading, reasonable distance from roadway
• Property owner (i.e. school district, county, city,
etc.) supports and approves the solar installation
and agrees to maintain
• Facility is committed to utilizing the solar
installation to serve an educational purpose
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency | Energy Education
MMPA’s Hometown Solar Grant Program is an extension of the Agency’s Energy
Education Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide MMPA member
communities with an educational asset to help teach our youth first-hand how sunlight
is converted into electricity, and the unique characteristics of solar power.
Hometown Solar Installation, Eagle Creek Elementary - Shakopee, MN
Energy Education
2018
Anoka High School
ANOKA
Sibley East Middle/High School
ARLINGTON
Brownton City Offices
BROWNTON
Clover Ridge Elementary School
CHASKA
South Point Elementary School
EAST GRAND FORKS
North High/District Education Center
NORTH ST. PAUL
BOLD High School
OLIVIA
Eagle Creek Elementary School
SHAKOPEE
GFW High School
WINTHROP
Hometown Solar
Hometown Solar
Anoka, Anoka High School
“… I would also like to thank you and AVANT
(MMPA) for your generosity and help in bringing
solar arrays to Anoka High School. I am excited
to see this information gathered by the solar panels
and turned into a teaching tool better informing
students about alternative power sources.” – Steven
Anderson, Director of Buildings & Grounds,
Anoka-Hennepin Schools
EGF, South Point Elementary School
“We are proud to host the Hometown Solar
installation at our school. This will be a great
learning tool and we are excited to find ways to
best incorporate it into our curriculum.” – Dr. Jim
Torkelson, Principal of South Point Elementary
School (East Grand Forks)
North St. Paul, North High School /
District Education Center
“Students and teachers will be able to access a
technology platform that provides real-world
data from the solar panels. Teachers at North and
Tartan attended workshops and developed units
this summer that apply to Grade 9 Environmental
Science and AP Earth Science.” - Penny Baker,
ISD. No. 622 Curriculum and Pathway Coordinator
(North St. Paul)
2017 MMPA Annual Report 1514 2017 MMPA Annual Report
8
10 2
7
1 1
12
3
9
4
5
1
6
HOW POWER GETS TO YOUR HOME
1.2.3.
OUR MEMBER
MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
MMPA provides wholesale
electricity to its 12 member
municipal utilities.*
* MMPA will begin providing wholesale power to
Elk River Municipal Utilities on October 1, 2018.
POWERING
YOUR HOMETOWN
Your local municipal utility
delivers and sells that
electricity to the residential
and business customers in
your community.
1. Anoka
2. Arlington
3 Brownton
4. Buffalo
5. Chaska
6. East Grand Forks
7. Elk River
8. Le Sueur
9. North St. Paul
10. Olivia
11. Shakopee
12. Winthrop
MUNICIPALUTILITIES
HOME
BUSINESS
Oak Glen
Wind Farm
44 MW, Wind
Hometown
BioEnergy
8 MW, BioEnergy
POWER SUPPLYPOWER SUPPLY
MMPA AND YOUR
LOCAL UTILITY
MMPA’S POWER SUPPLY
Faribault
Energy Park
300 MW, Natural Gas
Shakopee
Energy Park
46 MW, Natural Gas
Minnesota
River Station
49 MW, Natural Gas
Black Oak Getty
Wind Farm
78 MW, Wind
Buffalo
Solar
7 MW, Solar
Hometown
WindPower
1.9 MW, Wind
Power
Purchases
Fourth-graders from MMPA’s member communities engage in an interactive learning experience through
MMPA’s Energy Education programming at Faribault Energy Park and in-school assemblies.
2017 MMPA Annual Report 2726 2017 MMPA Annual Report
Learning about energy at an early age gives
children the knowledge to make informed
decisions about their energy use. In addition,
it provides future generations with a better
understanding of the impact of energy use
both at home and in the world around them.
MMPA understands the importance of
educating the next generation of utility
customers. To support our member
communities, we developed the Energy
Education Program to offer a local learning
opportunity that educates and familiarizes
students about energy. Through MMPA’s Energy
Education Workbook, interactive tours, and in-
school assemblies, the Agency offers students,
area residents, and local utility representatives
with an opportunity to learn together about the
power of their hometown.
A key component of the Energy Education
Program is the Faribault Energy Park (FEP)
Tour Event. While visiting the 300 MW natural
gas facility, students are able to view the
control room, steam turbine, on-site wind
turbine, and solar array. Specifically designed
to integrate into Minnesota’s 4th grade
science standards, the tours use interactive
educational stations to teach students how
electricity is generated from multiple sources,
including natural gas, wind and solar, as well
as how it is transmitted and used. Among the
many interactive activities, student volunteers
serve as “student-fueled power plants” and
use a bike-generator to better understand
electricity generation and the importance of
energy conservation.
For schools not easily accessible to FEP,
the Agency offers an in-school education
assembly, developed and presented by MMPA
in partnership with the Science Museum of
Minnesota. These educational events help
bring interactive energy learning opportunities
to more students throughout our member
communities.
Based on the program’s success, the Agency is
expanding Energy Education to include a high
school offering for 10th to 12th grade students
with an interest in the energy industry. This
program extension encourages students to
explore in-depth energy topics such as project
development, power generation, and energy-
focused careers. The program also includes a
tour of an MMPA power generation facility.
Empowering Young Minds
Through Energy Education
SUPPORTING OUR MEMBER COMMUNITIES
2017 MMPA Annual Report 2928 2017 MMPA Annual Report
In addition to MMPA’s Energy Education events,
in 2015 our program expanded to include the
Hometown Solar Grant Program. Hometown
Solar brings energy education and local power
to our member communities.
The purpose of the grant program is to provide
our members with a unique, local learning
opportunity to educate and familiarize students
and members’ customers with solar power. The
solar installations serve as a tool to help teach
local youth and area residents first-hand how
sunlight is converted into electricity, as well as
the unique benefits of solar power.
To support “real-world” energy education
learning opportunities in the classroom, we
developed lesson plan concepts and tools
designed to integrate the data from the solar
arrays into the school’s curriculum. Data from
the arrays provides learning opportunities for
all grade levels and can be applied to multiple
state education standards.
• Brownton City Offices (Brownton, 2016)
• BOLD High School (Olivia, 2016)
• GFW High School (Winthrop, 2016)
• Sibley East Middle/High School (Arlington, 2016)
• Anoka High School (Anoka, 2017)
• South Point Elementary School (East Grand Forks, 2017)
• North High/District Education Center (North St. Paul, 2017)
HOMETOWN SOLAR GRANT RECIPIENTS
Since the Program’s launch in 2015, the Agency has
awarded seven Hometown Solar Grants, in addition to
its pilot installation at MMPA’s Faribault Energy Park.
The following educational facilities have been awarded
Hometown Solar Grant Awards:
ANOKA EAST GRAND FORKS NORTH ST. PAUL
SUPPORTING OUR MEMBER COMMUNITIESSUPPORTING OUR MEMBER COMMUNITIES
MMPA’s Hometown Solar
Grant Program
MMPA manages CIP activities for seven
of our member communities. MMPA’s
Conservation Improvement Program offers a
variety of rebate programs to both residential
and business customers. In addition, MMPA
understands that each utility has a unique
customer base and we work directly with
them and their customers to identify and
develop conservation programs that best
meet their energy efficiency goals. This
individualized attention adds value to each
member’s conservation program and helps
them achieve their annual CIP goals.
MMPA’s Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) is another example of how we support
our members by providing supplemental services that make them more competitive.
Our program helps members compete by improving energy efficiency, putting money
back into their communities, and encouraging local economic development.
Helping Our Members Reach
Their Energy Efficiency Goals
Keeping Benefits in Our Member Communities
In 2017, our members saved energy, put money back into their communities, and encouraged local
economic development by:
• Educating residential customers about
energy efficient products
- Offering rebates for ENERGY STAR™
appliances and LED lighting that customers
might not otherwise consider purchasing
• Improving energy efficiency for local
businesses
- Awarding rebates to school districts that
install energy-efficient LED lighting
- Encouraging commercial and industrial
customers to upgrade to LED lighting
by offering competitively-priced lighting
rebates
• Encouraging local partnerships
- Partnering with local hardware businesses
to offer free LED light bulbs to residential
customers and promote residential LED
lighting rebates
- Partnering with low-income multi-family
rental properties by purchasing energy
efficient LED lighting and appliances to be
installed in residential units and common
areas
“ Students and teachers will be able
to access a technology platform that
provides real-world data from the solar
panels. Teachers at North and Tartan
high schools attended workshops and
developed units this summer that apply
to several courses in which alternative
energy content will be embedded. ”Penny Baker
North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, ISD 622
Curriculum and Pathway Coordinator