Energy committee moves to finalize state renewable-energy grant application, targets fuel-cell resilience at city facilities

Members of the city’s Energy Advisory Committee said they will pursue a Community Renewable Energy Grant from the Oregon Department of Energy and set a committee work session for Sept. 9 to review a Phase 2 construction proposal and related checklists. The committee discussed incorporating fuel-cell backup and other renewable generation into city facilities, and flagged application deadlines the group must meet.

The grant application deadline was cited as Sept. 19 (the committee was told applications are due “Sept. 19 by 5 p.m.” on the Oregon Department of Energy website) though one participant later cited Sept. 22 as a possible due date; the committee agreed to treat the earlier date as the working deadline and complete a draft review before the submission window closes. Committee members also said the city will seek council approval on Sept. 2 to move the application forward.

Committee members said the immediate focus is resilience: adding fuel-cell backup, solar and small-scale wind to critical city infrastructure so sites can operate during outages. The facilities singled out for near-term work are city hall, the community center, the water…