Newport discusses renewable backup power, consultant help and grant pursuit

Del Lockwood, Newport emergency management coordinator, told the City Council the city has expanded backup-power capacity but remains vulnerable during prolonged outages and disasters.

Lockwood said the city has “over 30” backup-mounted generators, including a 45-kilowatt portable unit acquired last summer, and roughly 12,000 gallons of combined fuel storage across facilities. He said that, at current consumption rates, the water treatment plant’s stored fuel would “last them about a week.”

The brief described a Department of Energy planning grant that has already funded projects in Coos Bay, Yachats and Depoe Bay. Lockwood said those projects combine solar, wind and hydrogen storage and that APTIM, a consulting and engineering firm, assisted those coastal communities with grant applications and planning. He said the city’s prior grant application lacked precise kilowatt siting and consultant data and that APTIM offered to help prepare a stronger application for the next round.

Rob Murphy, Newport fire chief, and Lockwood both recommended a layered approach to resiliency that retains diesel and propane generators while adding renewable options where appropriate. Murphy said renewable systems “are hard to make work for a facility that requires a lot of power, like wastewater treatment or water treatment” and are better suited to lower-power uses such as emergency shelters.

Kathy Rigby, the city’s grants manager, told council that the city needs engineering expertise to provide “critical data points” — for example, the kilowatt needs at each site and the likely energy savings — and that APTIM would supply that expertise if the city pursues the planning grant. Rigby confirmed any subsequent work would follow the city’s standard RFP and procurement rules.

Council members asked for clarity about the consultant’s motives and procurement fairness. Councillor Hall said she wanted transparency because APTIM is a for-profit firm “and they just received the Department of Energy contract.” Rigby and Lockwood said APTIM frequently assists communities to win planning grants but that using APTIM later would still require a competitive procurement process.

The briefing included additional preparedness details: one communications site near Otter Rock requires refueling about every six hours, the city has a military-grade portable water-filtration system stored at the airport capable of serving roughly 3,000 people, and six smaller suitcase filtration units exist at multiple locations. Lockwood said caches and larger trailers are stored out of the inundation zone and that the city and partners already coordinate supplies with local schools, the hospital and other critical infrastructure.

Council did not authorize a contract. Staff asked for the council’s direction to continue pursuing the planning grant and to work with APTIM on the application; council members gave an informal thumbs-up consensus. Staff said a formal contract would only follow if the grant is awarded and after the city’s procurement process.

Lockwood summarized the city’s approach as maintaining multiple fuel and power sources rather than relying on a single technology and continuing to seek grants and partnerships to improve resiliency.