6.1f ERMUSR 06-11-2019Elk River ,�
Municipal Utilities
TO:
ERMU Commission
MEETING DATE:
June 11, 2019
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
FROM:
tTom Sagstetter — Conservation & Key Accounts Mana
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
6.1f
• In the last month, the level two charger located downtown had 4 sessions, and provided
customers with 28 kWh of green energy. The charger in the ERMU/City Hall parking lot
had 14 sessions and provided customers with 183 kWh of green energy. The DC fast
charger at the Coborn's fuel station had 10 sessions and provided 65 kWh of green
energy to customers.
• Staff reviewed the Waste Management (WM) invoice for the rebuild of the engine that
was changed out on January 8, 2019. The total for parts and labor, which will be funded
from reserves, came to $201,936.55. It's important to note this amount reflects
discounts between 16% and 24% on multiple parts that WM was able to pass on to
ERMU. In addition, WM staff was able to recover the discarded exhaust manifolds from
the engine being rebuilt in Bloomington, Minnesota and re -use it on the new engine;
offering an additional savings of approximately $20,000. Over the next two years the
other three engines will need to be rebuilt to continue the landfill gas to electric
generation facility at the current capacity of 3.2 MW.
• Staff presented the Community Aid Elk River (CAER) Food Shelf with a rebate check for
$2,500 to help offset the cost of upgrading interior and exterior lighting to efficient
LEDs. The lighting upgrade will save an estimated 7,200 kWh or $800 annually. This
rebate will help meet the required low-income spending ($23,800) for 2019.
• On May 15 ERMU staff, the City, and the County met with representatives from the
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) to discuss their initiative to site a data
center in Elk River.
The Energy City Commission (ECC) met on May 15. Two new commissioners took their
oath, Energy -Related Business Representatives Tim Steinbeck with Great River Energy,
and Alec Plaisted with Plaisted Companies. As she was unable to attend the meeting,
School Representative Amy Lord will take her oath at the next scheduled meeting. The
Commission also appointed Tom Sagstetter as Chair and Henry Griner as Co -Chair. There
was discussion of the 10-year action plan and possible projects focusing on recycling,
increasing education programs in the schools, and micro dams. There was also
discussion of the Hometown Solar Grant from MMPA, the solar picnic shelter, Climate
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Smart Municipals, and the Clean Energy Community Grant that Elk River received for
participating in the Eco Experience during the Minnesota State Fair. There is a great
video that was done by TPT on the Climate Smart Municipals initiative; the video is
available at https://www.tpt.org/climate-smart-cities-workinp,-together .
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