Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy Sustainability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Urbandale council accepts solar feasibility study, asks staff for cost analysis without tax incentives
Summary
The Urbandale City Council voted to accept a solar feasibility study and asked staff to provide additional cost estimates that exclude tax incentives to help determine which projects, if any, should move into the Capital Improvement Program.
The Urbandale City Council accepted a solar feasibility study and asked staff to return with additional cost information that excludes tax incentives so members can assess which projects might be placed in the city's Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The motion to accept the study passed after councilmembers discussed payback periods, demonstration value and possible candidate projects.
Councilmember Pat said the council should be cautious but not paralyzed by caution, noting the study’s time horizon and potential returns. “If were not if were too careful, it might be our caution that is our undoing,” Pat said while urging the council to consider which projects could be implemented and to check the consultants math on payback assumptions.
Pat and other councilmembers identified Fire Station 42 and several planned roof replacements, including the public library, as near-term candidates for solar installations because roofs are already scheduled for replacement within a few years. Pat said many projects in the study have 25-year service lives and that preliminary, informal ratios she calculated suggested simple paybacks of about 20 years or less on some sites, but she recommended the consultant re-run the numbers using construction costs without tax incentives.
Bridgette (participating remotely) said she had spoken with staff and agreed there should be a demonstration project and that the item should remain in CIP consideration. Councilmember Bodie moved to accept the solar feasibility study; Kroll seconded. The motion carried.
Councilmembers asked staff to request from the consultant a brief follow-up analysis showing simple-payback calculations with tax incentives removed so the council can determine whether one or two projects could be inserted into the CIP or budget. Staff indicated they will follow up and return additional information to the council for CIP and budget planning.
The council recorded no formal vote in the meeting minutes beyond the motion to accept the study, but members discussed that if a solar project is selected for the CIP, trade-offs with other capital priorities will need to be considered.
Background: Council discussion on the study began during consideration of the consent agenda item about a consultant report and continued later when a formal motion to accept the study was offered. Speakers emphasized public education and demonstration value in addition to the financial case for solar installs and suggested smaller pilot-scale projects or arrays if large arrays are not fiscally practical for particular buildings.
Next steps: Staff will follow up with the consultant to produce the no-tax-incentive payback calculations and present options for one or two candidate projects for possible inclusion in the CIP.
