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Staff updates: city solar projects coming online, EV fleet expansion and vulnerability report outreach
Summary
City staff told the Environmental Advisory Board that several municipal solar installations and four electric vehicles are moving into operation, a vulnerability assessment final reimbursement is pending, and the city plans public-facing materials and a June 10 solar celebration at Morningside Recreation Center.
City environmental staff reported May 14 that multiple municipal sustainability projects are advancing, including completed solar installations, electric vehicle acquisitions and the near-complete vulnerability assessment.
Cassie Cordova, the board liaison and city environmental staff, said the city has four solar projects under construction or operational: Morningside Recreation Center (now live and interconnected), General Services (installation complete, pending final inspections), the Solid Waste Transfer Station (built, awaiting interconnection) and the Clearwater Gas building (permit issued; construction beginning in May with an expected July online date). "Morningside Rec is complete. It is interconnected, and it is live," Cordova said.
Cordova also updated the board on the city's first four electric vehicles purchased with an EECBG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant) allocation of about $169,000. The city has received three of the four vehicles; the third arrived days before the meeting and will be assigned to an environmental inspector when tags are issued. The city received complimentary EV chargers with the vehicles and had those installed at the municipal garage.
On planning and outreach, Cordova said the city’s vulnerability assessment paperwork has been accepted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and staff will apply for grant reimbursement. The final technical report is dense, she said, so communications staff will prepare a summarized, public-facing package at myclearwater.com/vulnerability. She announced a solar celebration event at Morningside Recreation Center on June 10 at 9 a.m., inviting board members and the public to attend.
Cordova also briefed the board on the federal elective-pay (clean energy) rebates the city received: roughly $106,000 reimbursed for 2023 projects (Coachmen Park solar and EV chargers) and an estimated ~$26,000 expected for 2024 solar parking-meter installations. She said the city plans to apply for 2025 projects in next year’s cycle. The city intends to start a new greenhouse-gas inventory (targeting 2024 data) with an incoming intern who has prior experience conducting inventories.
Board members welcomed the progress and suggested the city highlight project accomplishments for public recognition and transparency.
Context and limits: Cordova’s report described project status and timelines; funding estimates were described as reimbursements and projections. No new formal policies or procurements were approved during the meeting.
Ending: Staff will return with public-facing vulnerability materials, continue interconnection work with Duke Energy, and host the solar celebration in June.
