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Clean Energy advisory committee outlines path to 50% carbon reduction, schedules next workshops
Summary
At its Sept. 9 work session the Green Bay Area Public School District board heard an update from the Clean Energy Advisory Committee on McKinstry-led workshops, a focus on decarbonization strategies and emissions-reduction metrics, and was told the committee will bring a recommendation in December and hold another workshop in October.
The Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education heard a status update Sept. 9 from Cale Polchinski, the district-appointed representative to the Clean Energy Advisory Committee, on ongoing workshops with consultant McKinstry.
Polchinski told the board the committee has completed a second workshop (Sept. 3) that condensed earlier sessions and covered energy program operations, capital-project considerations, an emissions-reduction hierarchy and elements of decarbonization strategy. "We will be holding our next workshop in October," he said, adding that the committee is compiling benchmarks and utility data already in use by the district.
Board members pressed for specifics about participants and deliverables. Trustee Bryan asked for a summary of participating organizations and whether the committee includes local government and environmental stakeholders; Polchinski said he will provide those details at the next update. "I can bring some of those organizations...as just a brief update for everyone," he said.
Polchinski said the committee’s near-term goal is to recommend a process to reach the district’s 2035 goal of a 50% carbon reduction. He described the recommendation as a pathway that could include capital projects (for example, HVAC and lighting optimization), electrifying fossil-fuel uses such as vehicles, and improved use of the district’s building automation systems to reduce energy consumption. "There will be a capital plan — capital projects included in that plan," he said.
Trustees expressed interest in the cost-benefit trade-offs of initiatives and how return on investment will be evaluated. Trustee Rick said he asked at the workshop about return on investment and resource prioritization; Polchinski and other trustees noted that McKinstry’s work includes examples of metrics and pathways used by other districts, which the committee expects to adapt.
Polchinski also said the committee has posted vacancy notices and encouraged applications, including from students; the chair noted one application deadline is Oct. 1. The committee plans to consolidate its learning across three workshops and present a formal recommendation to the board in December.
The board did not take action on the committee’s recommendations during the work session; next steps are an October workshop and a December recommendation from the Clean Energy Advisory Committee.
