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Trustees press for solar options as committee adopts project plan; staff says building will be "solar ready"
Summary
Trustees asked the design team to evaluate installing solar versus simply making the building "solar ready." Staff and the OPM said the baseline design will be solar-ready and that lifecycle/cost analyses and bid alternates will explore purchase, lease or third-party ownership.
Trustees pressed staff for stronger language than "solar ready," asking why the project would not install panels if feasible. Trustee Getty asked, "Why would we not be putting solar?" and urged that the document include a goal to pursue solar where cost-effective. Staff and the owner's project manager explained the common municipal approach: design structural and electrical capacity for future panels (make the roof "solar ready"), perform lifecycle and payback analysis during schematic design, and include solar as a bid alternate or pursue third-party arrangements if economically justified.
Cummings and the design team said they will direct MEP consultants to perform lifecycle and feasibility studies and provide cost options (purchase vs lease vs third-party ownership) during schematic design so the trustees can decide later whether to add installed solar as part of the construction scope.
