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Farmers Branch staff report on solar installs, water rebates, EV grant hunt and greenhouse gas inventory progress
Summary
Sustainability staff told the committee they have recorded 36 solar installs via city programs, are awaiting a state electric-vehicle grant decision, progressed through preliminary TxDOT trail-funding screening (the state could cover about 80% of a proposed Inwood trail), and are about 90% finished with a 2023 greenhouse gas inventory.
City sustainability staff updated the Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee on ongoing programs and grant applications, reporting progress on solar programs, water-rebate activity, electric-vehicle grant applications, trail grant preliminaries, anti-idling outreach and a near-complete greenhouse gas inventory.
Staff reported 36 solar installations completed through city-related programs to date and described an upcoming solar auction: the solar-switch program auction was scheduled for April 16, and residents who receive offers have until July 2 to accept; staff said residents may still join later but earlier signups improve chances for bulk discounts. The staff presenter said the current auction includes battery options and that some incentives require a battery to qualify.
On transportation and trails, staff said a preliminary application for TxDOT trail funding passed an initial screening and the detailed application was expected to be released the following week. Staff described an application to build trail connections along Inwood within an easement that would link the Alpharetta area (city comment: to the city limits) and said the state could cover about 80 percent of construction costs if awarded.
Utilities and water programs: staff reported 14 toilet-rebate applications and 13 irrigation-checkup applications so far and said marketing pushes will continue into summer. Staff described a planned water 'smart hub' dashboard (metering and customer portal) that requires billing integration; staff said a preview for committee members and coordination with customer service training could reduce call center volume once live.
Other items: staff said they are awaiting results of a state electric-vehicle grant and that the March auction for a separate power-switch program concluded on March 26. Staff reported a small, quick solar repair at the library and that SolSmart will be included with planning and ordinance work this summer. Staff said the city was accepted into a national benchmarking program administered by the U.S. Green Building Council and that they are about 90 percent complete on a greenhouse-gas inventory using calendar-year 2023 data, with plans to compare the result to a 2019 inventory and to update inventories every four years.
On anti-idling, staff said the department has focused on internal employee education (signs and graphics) ahead of ozone season and encouraged residents to avoid outdoor activities on poor air-quality days. Staff also said they are exploring an energy-efficiency rebate pilot targeted to low- and moderate-income households to address high energy-burden customers.
"I would say we've had 36 installs though through the other programs that we've done. So that's pretty decent for, I would say, for a city our size," the staff presenter said, summarizing solar-program uptake.
Committee members asked for documentation and more detailed cost or dashboard previews; staff said they would circulate auction results, application updates and the final greenhouse-gas inventory and would coordinate a preview of the water dashboard and any customer-facing materials.
No formal committee action was taken; staff are moving forward with grant applications and program implementation and will return updates as more details (award notices, application packages, dashboard preview) become available.
