The committee approved a group of city solar projects on July 17, authorizing staff to move forward with parking-canopy leases at Bowen Field, East Shore Park and additional parking at Hill Central and to finalize a solar agreement for the municipal golf course. City staff and vendor GreenSkies presented designs for parking-canopy arrays and explained the financial model: the city acts as landlord and receives lease payments from a third-party developer that sells the power into the grid (United Illuminating) or to city meters under state virtual-net-metering rules.

Director of Climate & Sustainability David Winter and GreenSkies’ business-development representative described three canopy projects that staff estimate will yield combined annual lease revenue around $120,000 under current layouts; staff also reported an executed lease for a landfill project that will generate roughly $72,000 a year. Winter said he worked with the parks department to minimize tree loss at canopy sites and that canopy clearances are sufficient for school buses and service vehicles. He added that federal tax-credit timing is constraining: projects must begin construction within the timetable set by federal incentives to qualify for recent production and investment credits.

Committee members pressed for final, itemized revenue figures and for a clarified annual number that includes the golf-course design. Staff agreed to return with final contract language and updated revenue numbers; an amendment added the golf-course project to the package and adjusted the committee language to reflect staff estimates of roughly $120,000 in annual revenue combined for the parking-canopy projects (not including the previously-approved landfill lease of about $72,000).

The committee voted to approve the projects (as amended) and authorized staff to finalize the golf-course contractual details and return with final terms to the Board schedule.

Ending: With committee approval, staff will finalize the golf-course PPA/lease terms, work to preserve trees at canopy locations and move design and procurement forward to meet federal tax-credit deadlines and the state nonresidential solar program requirements.