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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-07-20; 6-a - Climate Action Tax Recommendations for FY 2019-20 – School Solar Update 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 7, 2020 Action Agenda Item No. 6-a SUBJECT: Climate Action Tax Recommendations for FY 2019-20 — School Solar Update DEPARTMENT: Asset Management Services, Financial and Administrative Services ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1. Climate Action Tax Projects and Brennan Bouma, (919) 245-2626 Scoring Report FY 2019-20 — Paul Laughton, (919) 245-2152 Revised 2. Answers to Board Members' Questions on Solar for Schools Grant Program PURPOSE: To: 1) Receive additional information on the Solar for Schools Grant program that could be funded through the FY 2019-20 Orange County Climate Action Tax in response to Board members' questions at the February 4, 2020 Board Business Meeting; and 2) Approve funding for the recommended Solar for Schools Grant program for FY 2019-20 as outlined in the attached report. BACKGROUND: As part of the FY 2019-20 budget, the Board of Commissioners authorized an additional '/4 cent property tax to provide an estimated $469,272 dedicated to accelerating climate change mitigation through the new Climate Change Mitigation Project in the Capital Investment Plan. When the tax was authorized, the BOCC stated that it would decide the final prioritization of projects to be funded, and the Board requested that the Commission for the Environment (CFE) provide feedback on prospective projects in advance of BOCC review. The CFE completed its initial scoring, and the BOCC reviewed a report that outlined the recommended projects at its Business meeting on February 4t". At that meeting the Board approved funding for two of the four recommended projects, and at the request of school leadership, temporarily deferred taking any action on the two projects which make up the proposed Solar for Schools grant program. Attachment 1 is a copy of this report revised in accordance with the comments received from the BOCC. 2 During the discussion of the Solar for Schools grant program, Board members asked several questions in preparation for additional discussion in the future. In response, staff has revised the report and has had discussions with staff in both school districts. Attachment 2 is a list of the Board members' questions and follow-up responses on the recommended Solar for Schools Grant Program. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Climate Action Tax is projected to generate $469,272 in funds in FY 2019-20. The top two recommended projects have already been approved to use $169,272 of these funds, and the remaining $300,000 is recommended to fund two Solar for Schools grants for $150,000 each. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable to this item: • GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their dependents. Local investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in Orange County provides direct reduction of monthly energy bills and supports jobs and investments in clean energy technologies. These cost reductions lead to improved affordability for County school facilities and ensure responsible stewardship of Orange County taxpayer resources. • GOAL: ESTABLISH SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE LAND-USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes and educational levels with respect to the development and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, policies, and decisions. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Reducing energy usage from the electric grid improves air quality impacts. Improving local air quality helps to protect the health of vulnerable populations in Orange County whose health is disproportionately affected by ground-level ozone and other emissions. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: The following Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal impacts are applicable to this item: • ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND WASTE REDUCTION Initiate policies and programs that: 1) conserve energy; 2) reduce resource consumption; 3) increase the use of recycled and renewable resources; and 4) minimize waste stream impacts on the environment. Investing in local climate change mitigation actions will conserve energy, reduce resource consumption, and increase the use of renewable resources. • RESULTANT IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND AIR QUALITY Assess and where possible mitigate adverse impacts created to the natural resources of the site and adjoining area. Minimize production of greenhouse gases. 3 The Solar for Schools climate change mitigation projects will minimize the production of greenhouse gases, reducing Orange County's contribution to the adverse impacts of climate change on human and natural resources both inside and outside of the County. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board 1) Receive additional information on the Solar for Schools Grant program that could be funded through the FY 2019-20 Orange County Climate Action Tax in response to Board members' questions at the February 4, 2020 Board Business Meeting; and 2) Approve funding for the recommended Solar for Schools Grant program for FY 2019-20 as outlined in the attached report. Attachment 1 4 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA February 4, 2020 Climate Action Tax Projects and Scoring Report FY 2019-20 Executive Summary: As part of the FY20 budget, the Board of Orange County Commissioners authorized an additional % cent property tax to provide an estimated $469,272 dedicated to accelerating climate change mitigation through the new Climate Change Mitigation Project in the Capital Investment Plan.This funding adds to the County's ongoing investments in clean technology and will support an expansion of climate change mitigation projects that build on Orange County's long history of sustainable actions. Following the Board's direction, the Orange County Commission for the Environment (CFE) has scored an initial list of climate mitigation projects using a formula that prioritizes social justice and racial equity.The full project scoring table completed by the CFE is included as Appendix A. Based on their ranking,the resulting project recommendations are listed in the following table: Project CFE Rank Cost Estimate Supplemental Weatherization for Low Income Households 1 $150,000 Countywide LED Campaign 2 $19,272 Rooftop solar- OCS 3 $150,000 Rooftop solar-CHCCS 3 $150,000 Total $469,272 Each project would be implemented to maximize project efficiency and minimize impacts on Orange County staff resources: • The weatherization project would focus primarily on providing additional energy efficiency assistance to Orange County residents with manufactured homes and homes already being repaired under existing programs in partnership with the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition, Orange County Home Preservation Coalition, and Orange County Housing and Community Development. • The LED Campaign would connect with Orange County residents primarily through partnering with the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) of the Department of Social Services as well as the Family Success Alliance and its affiliated non-profits. • The rooftop solar projects for the schools are proposed to work through a grant program to provide the schools with flexibility while preserving the ability of the County to track progress and impact. History of County Sustainability Actions: These projects we propose to fund through the FY20 Climate Action Tax add to a long history of sustainability actions by Orange County. For decades, County staff have been safeguarding taxpayer and environmental resources by outfitting of County buildings with energy efficient technologies such as energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems, low-flow water fixtures, rainwater and greywater harvesting P.O. Box 8181 * Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Telephone: 919 245-2625 Fax:919-644-3001 5 systems, and geothermal systems). Since 2015,the Orange County Sustainability program has pulled in more than $325,000 in grant funding to provide additional support for Orange County's investments in innovative sustainability projects. The County made an internal commitment in 2010 to aim for reductions in energy and water usage per square foot and was able to achieve a 22% reduction in energy use and a 39% reduction in water use by 2017. Here are some milestones in the recent history of Orange County's commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy: • 2005 Greenhouse Gas Emissions inventory, 2017 update underway. • 2009 The Justice Center renovation includes County's first major geothermal installation, paving the way for 4 additional facilities to be retrofitted with geothermal HVAC systems by 2016. Combined,these systems allow the County to spend $37,000 less per year on energy bills and reduce the wear and tear on our HVAC systems. • 2010 Electric Vehicle charging network installed with 16 free chargers across 4 locations to incentivize a market transformation. • 2017 SolSmart Silver Designation attained including a solar rooftop feasibility study for County facilities, how-to checklist on solar installation for homeowners. • 2017 Commitment to Paris Climate Accord -26% reduction in total emissions by 2025. • 2017 Commitment to transition to 100% renewable energy countywide by 2050. • 2018 Triangle Regional Resilience Assessment—In 2018,the Town of Chapel Hill, City of Raleigh, City of Durham, Durham County, Orange County and the Town of Cary completed a joint assessment of our region's resilience to the hazards we all experience.This will guide plans that will help us withstand future anticipated disruptions. • 2019 Climate Action Tax—The Board of Orange County Commissioners levied a %cent property tax to accelerate priority actions on climate change. Current Projects: Orange County is building on its strong history of leadership in sustainability, and has been accelerating its efforts in several parallel projects: • Four new facilities which are currently under development will be the first County buildings to include rooftop photovoltaic systems: The Orange County Detention Center, the Environment and Agricultural Center, the Efland EMS sub-station, and the Parks Operations Base.The largest of these facilities will also be equipped with a highly efficient geothermal HVAC system. • The County has now committed to the 3 d party commissioning process for every major construction project to ensure new buildings are performing as efficiently as they were designed.This practice is estimated by the NC Department of Environmental Quality(NCDEQ) to pay for itself within 1-3 years. • More than $150,000 in grant funding has been secured in just 2018 and 2019 to support the County in procuring electric fleet vehicles and upgrading and expanding our network of electric vehicle charging stations. • The emissions for flights taken by all County staff as well as the car trips taken by the County's pool of CarShare vehicles will be offset by investments in documented carbon reduction projects being installed in North Carolina. 6 Future Actions Recommended: Even with all of the current and previous projects, the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) recognize the need for further investment in energy efficiency to reduce our impact, renewable energy to power the necessary services we provide, and offsets for any unavoidable emissions. Many current climate change mitigation projects will extend into the future, and entirely new opportunities will arise as well. With that in mind, on June 11th, 2019, the Board levied an additional cent property tax to provide an estimated $469,272 dedicated to accelerating climate change mitigation through the new Climate Change Mitigation Project in the Capital Investment Plan. During the approval of this Climate Action Tax,the BOCC requested that the CFE provide their feedback on initial project ideas in advance of BOCC review using a formula that prioritized social justice and racial equity.The BOCC has regularly emphasized the need to consider justice and equity, so that those who benefit most directly from the County's actions and investments are the people who most need assistance.This scoring formula was created to assess project ideas and a rubric reflecting that formula was used by the CFE to rank order the climate action projects (see Appendix A). Table 1: Orange County Racial Distribution and Poverty Status by Race 80 70% 60% 50% 40% ZOverall Racial Makeup 30% 20% ■Racial Makeup of Orange 10% Co. residents below 0% federal poverty level �\aQ �a Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Assessment Criteria: Projects were assessed by the CFE based on 6 key criteria. Bullet points below each criterion help to describe how the CFE was directed to apply them along with their relevant expertise. Social justice and racial equity is the criterion that holds the highest weight. Low-income households have fewer resources to help them avoid or adapt to the impacts of climate change, and recent census figures show that racial minorities make up a more significant portion of the Orange County's residents below the federal poverty line (see Table 1). Not all County residents below the poverty line are people of color. Both socio-economic status and racial identity are key factors that will be used to target and track the positive impacts of these programs. 7 The following is the list of criteria and guidance provided to the CFE in scoring the projects: • Social Justice and Racial Equity(0 to 3pts): • Who benefits most directly? If it is likely to be a racial minority or underserved population, score high. • Are there negative side effects of the project? If these may impact a racial minority or underserved population, score low. • Emissions reduced (0 to 2 pts): • Consider quantity and location. • Higher scores should go to emissions reduced within Orange County, instead of at a power plant, due to greater health co-benefits. • Efficient use of Funds(0 to 2 pts): • What is the return on investment? • Does this project build on successful existing programs or leverage other funding? • Will this project help to generate other funds or support future grant funding? • Time to complete (0 to 1 pt): • Projects that can be completed or show clear deliverables within one year should score higher. • Ease of understanding,visibility, and messaging(0 to 1 pt): • Projects that are easier to explain to Orange County taxpayers should score higher. • Likelihood of success (0 to 1 pt): • Projects that are within the direct control of the County and which have minimal complexity should score higher. Proiect descriptions: Supplemental Weatherization for Low Income Households: Due to the number of non-profit and for-profit service providers in the affordable housing field and the unique needs of each home, it is recommended that$150,000 within this capital project be directed by Orange County Housing and Community Development (OCHCD).After discussions with OCHCD,we recommend these funds be used by OCHCD in collaboration with established partners in the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition (OCHPC) and the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC). In addition to utilizing the funds to increase the energy efficiency upgrades within the ongoing low- income housing rehabilitation work being completed by OCHCD, the department would work in partnership with the OCHPC to complete additional weatherization activities for low income households in Orange County.The OCHPC is a collaboration of non-profit and government entities engaged in rehabilitation of homes for low income seniors and people with disabilities in Orange County. Each organization has different programs and funding streams that can fund specific activities to rehabilitate homes for eligible households.The aim of the coalition is to bring together all agencies engaged in these activities to leverage funds and maximize outcomes. Each month, members meet to share their current caseloads and discuss what agency has capacity and funding to address needed repairs on a case-by- case basis. Because members are already assisting low-income families and individuals with a wide variety of repairs and improvements that reduce energy costs and improve the comfort level of residents,this additional funding would allow coalition members to add weatherization and energy saving up-fits that existing funding does not allow for.This would include activities like sealing cracks and ductwork, 8 improving insulation, purchasing energy star-rated replacement windows and appliances, as well as more efficient HVAC systems. In recent years,the needs of the houses served have often been so extensive that the projects reach their funding limits before all energy efficiency upgrades can be completed. This project would provide additional resources for these energy efficiency investments to increase the future affordability of the home.This portion of the project funding is initially estimated to cover these additional energy efficiency improvements in up to 60 houses depending on the level of need of the houses identified. Each of the service providers in the Coalition focuses on different elements of home repair and enhancement, but all would be able to enhance their energy efficiency improvements with additional funding .Partners in this effort include (and is not limited to) Orange County Housing and Community Development, Orange County Department on Aging, Rebuilding Together, Habitat for Humanity,the Jackson Center, and the Triangle J Council of Governments.The coalition model is considered a best practice in the industry as it maximizes the efficiency of services, minimizing waitlists and administrative costs. In partnership with the both the OCHPC and the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC) additional resources would assist with their mobile home preservation efforts.The energy efficiency performance of manufactured housing is often much lower than housing built on-site and therefore the energy cost per square foot is higher. At the same time, low-cost repairs such as resealing the seams and ductwork of a manufactured home can make a big improvement in energy efficiency and quality of life. This project will help continue targeted outreach, assessments and low-cost energy efficiency improvements, and help with early identification of any further needs that might be met through the County's existing Urgent Repair Program such as roof leaks and septic issues. Rooftop Solar for Schools: The rooftop solar projects proposed for each school district is proposed to work through a grant to provide the schools with flexibility while preserving the ability of the County to track progress and impact. Proposed requirements of the grant would be: 1.) That the solar projects maximize the purchase power of the grant funding by considering leasing of the solar panels in the arrangement laid out in 2017 by H.B. 589, and report to the County on the decision that was made to purchase or lease. 2.) The grantees must report the total solar energy generated as well as the percent of each facility's energy use that was served by the solar system.This would provide pressure for continued focus on energy efficiency along with the renewable energy. 3.) The grantees must have a monitor showing the live energy performance of their systems in a public location with a sign noting that the system was paid for by proceeds of the Orange County Climate Action Tax. Adding solar to the rooftop of County school buildings would currently allow the schools to leverage up to $75,000 in solar incentives per project from Duke Energy. Adding solar to the schools would provide the additional benefit of exposing hundreds of Orange County students and parents to the practical application of sustainable technologies. Countywide LED campaign (Proposed by the CFE): An important part of Orange County's efforts to combat climate change will be encouraging residents and businesses to adopt practices that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.This pilot campaign would focus on retrofitting Orange County households with LED light bulbs.According to the US Energy Information Agency as of 2017 about 10%of all household electricity is used for lighting. For the same 9 amount of light, LEDs use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and 5-10% less than fluorescents, all while minimizing heat output and lasting 10 times longer. According to the US Department of Energy, currently about 15% of US residents have adopted LEDs. While the adoption rate is probably higher in Orange County, there would still be room for improvement making this easy-to- install energy-saving technology a good focus for an energy efficiency campaign. The project would be run by the Orange County Sustainability Program in partnership with several Orange County departments and non-profits that directly serve the County's low-income households. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) run by the Orange County Department of Social Services helps Orange County residents to pay their energy bills in an emergency.This program is open to working with the Sustainability Program to distribute LED lightbulbs to those who request assistance. The Family Success Alliance and their affiliated non-profit partners are also open to distributing LEDs through their networks. This proposed campaign would be rolled out in 3 steps: 1.) Create and test a pledge form - In order to receive bulbs, an interested resident would fill out a brief pledge that would allow them to indicate the number and type of bulbs that they pledge to replace with LEDs.The pledge form would be designed and tested to protect the identity of participants while allowing the program to estimate the energy efficiency impact.This form and other outreach materials would also suggest further low or no-cost ways to reduce energy bills such as moderating thermostat settings and changing air filters, and it would inform residents of other related utility savings programs such as OWASA's Affordability Outreach Program. 2.) Purchase bulbs— LED bulbs would be purchased in bulk to reduce costs and then stored until they are distributed. Ordering and distribution may occur in multiple rounds depending on the storage space available. 3.) Distribute—This program will leverage an existing program from Duke Energy to provide a box of 15 free LED bulbs every 5 years to each customer who requests one. With the assistance of staff administering the LIEAP and FSA as well as partnering non-profits, all applicable clients would apply for Duke Energy's free LEDs. If a household is served by Piedmont Electric, or if the bulbs Duke provides would not replace all the bulbs in the household, the County would provide LED bulbs. Non-profits and County staff who have access and permission to enter clients' houses may be able to provide a higher level of service and replace the bulbs directly. County staff will work with these partners to supply bulbs they need. Including the cost of promotional materials it is estimated that the LED campaign would cost just over $19,000 to serve up to 3,000 households. Based on initial data from the 2017 Orange County GHG inventory, retrofitting a household with LEDs could save 400-1000 kwh/year, reduce the electric bill by $40-$100/year, and reduce CO2e emissions by 300-700 pounds/year. Small hydropower feasibility study(*Not included in recommended projects due to low CFE ranking*): According to County engineer, Chris Sandt, Lake Orange may be a good candidate for the installation of a small hydropower generator.The upcoming spillway repair project funded in the CIP may be a good opportunity to leverage committed funds to install energy generation equipment.A 3rd party engineering study would help to confirm the total power output expected and the overall feasibility of this project. 10 Appendix A: Complete CFE Project Scoring Table: Social Ease of Justice Efficient under- Likeli- /Racial use of Time to standing hood of Equity Emissions Funds Com- and success Cost 0 to 3 Reduced 0 to 2 plete 0 messaging 0 to 1 Project Estimate is (0 to 2 pts) is to 1 t : (0 to 1 pt): pt). Total Rank* Supplemental Weatherization for $150,000 3 1 2 1 1 1 9 1 Low Income Households Countywide LED $19,272 Campaign 3 1 2 1 1 1 9 2 Rooftop solar-OCS $150,000 2 1 2 1 1 1 8 3 Rooftop solar- $150,000 2 1 2 1 1 1 8 3 CHCCS Small hydropower $30,000 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 4 feasibility study Total (Max for 2019-20 is $499,272 $469,272) *All projects, including those that tied in their scoring and those that exceeded the FY20 funding limit were placed in rank order by CFE voting. Appendix B: Other projects that might be considered for future funding: These projects were not reviewed by the CFE, but as the County moves forward these and other ideas may be good candidates for elaboration and review: • Assisting OWASA in the development of a biodigester to make productive use of the waste gases at their water treatment plant that are currently flared. • Investments in resiliency for vulnerable communities as determined by the ongoing update to the Eno-Haw Hazard Mitigation Plan. • Energy Efficiency Grant Program or Revolving Loan Fund 11 Attachment 2 Questions and Answers on the Recommended FY19-20 Solar for Schools Grant Program: During the discussion of the recommended Solar for Schools Grant Program at the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on February 4, 2020, Board members asked several questions in preparation for future discussion. Below is a list of those questions and the follow-up responses. When the responses came directly from staff at the Schools,they are labelled as Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). 1. How much solar energy could be generated with $150,000? Based on recent price figures from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of$1.83 per watt installed (NREL, Q1 2018 Commercial System Benchmark), $150K would buy an 82kW system if it were purchased outright. Using OWASA's solar projects as a current local example, if$150,000 were used as a down-payment in a lease arrangement the system it could purchase would be larger than 180kW. It would not be uncommon for a school facility to have an energy demand of 200kW or larger, so a lease would allow for a solar array to match the energy needs of a facility much more closely. 2. Are there Duke Energy Solar Incentives that apply to this project? Duke Energy will provide up to $75K in incentives for public entities to install solar energy systems >100kW.Assuming these potential projects offset a school's total energy demand,these projects are likely to eligible for that level of incentives (see this fact sheet for more info). That incentive is locked in after the design phase once Duke approves an interconnection agreement, so projects could be designed with a budget of$225,000. Some project money would be spent on design before the incentive was guaranteed, but there could be a clause that would allow the remainder of project funds to be contingent on Duke solar incentive approval. Orange County Schools (OCS) staff said that 7 of their 13 schools receive their electricity from Duke Energy, and that these might therefore make the best candidates while that incentive program is in place (currently through 2021). 3. What are the schools' overall reactions to the recommended FY19-20 Solar for Schools grant program? Staff from both Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) had a similar reaction. Overall they feel this funding is something that they welcome and that they feel confident in their ability to utilize it for the benefit of their facilities and students. School staff are active participants 12 in the Orange County Climate Council and said that they look forward to exploring further alignment of our sustainability goals and projects. In the future, more open dialogue between County and school staff during the project scoping phase would improve everyone's comfort with the process and also likely improve the effectiveness of potential climate action projects chosen. School staff felt that such discussions could happen with the full knowledge that the Commissioners would make the final funding decisions and that no undue expectations would be set. CHCCS staff made the additional point that once this item was confirmed as an item to go before the Commissioners, it would have been best if County staff had called to confirm our initial conversation about this project idea, and let them know that it was moving ahead. 4. How do the schools feel about the proposed grant requirements on considering leasing as well as monitoring, reporting,and displaying the information about solar energy generated? Staff from both OCS and CHCCCS agreed that they would be open to considering leasing as one option and wanted to learn more about it. They also agreed that most solar power systems these days are being built with connectivity to a web- based energy monitoring platform of some kind and that installing a display monitor to show the live energy production is not likely to be difficult.The ability to track live energy usage along with generation in one system may be more involved and expensive, but it is something staff agreed to explore as the project moves forward so that energy efficiency remains a focus along with renewable energy production. CHCCS already has experience with a complex and interactive live energy monitoring platform similar to the one that Commissioner Marcoplos described. In their experience with this one platform, it seemed that after some initial excitement it was rarely used. S. What are the potential benefits of leasing a solar installation instead of purchasing one? Within this proposed grant program,the schools would work directly with solar companies bidding to win this project, and County staff would assist as desired. Both leasing and outright purchasing are financing options to explore. Leasing is a way to finance a solar installation that allows you to install a larger solar system by turning your up-front investment into a down-payment(see question #7). With the right size down-payment, lease payments can be smaller than the amount of energy cost avoided, creating immediate overall savings. 13 Solar panels have a 25 year life expectancy, and the leasing company often only owns the panels for the first 5-10 years.The schools have the option to write into the lease agreement that the solar company will manage any repairs and maintenance either during the time the system is owned by the solar company or for the entire life of the panels. After an agreed-upon period of time,the lease agreement should allow the Schools to make one of the following choices: 1.) Purchase the panels at a much reduced cost; 2.) Renegotiate a new lease agreement; 3.)Ask the solar company to remove the panels at no cost. 6. What can the schools expect in terms of lifetime costs if they lease instead of owning their systems? Leasing a solar installation from a private 3rd party entity would allow the schools to take advantage of significant federal tax incentives that are inaccessible to public entities if they were to purchase the system outright. As part of the RFP process, the schools can ask solar companies to run lifecycle cost analyses as part of their bid package.These analyses change from site to site based on various factors including space available,total on-site energy demand, shading, and electricity rates. Running these analyses is a normal part of the RFP bidding process that solar companies are prepared to undertake. Local example - OWASA has gone through an RFP process and is currently designing solar installations at 5 locations through all lease agreements. As a package and based on the terms that they negotiated, their solar installations have a positive net present value within their expected 25-year life (3%discount rate). They expect to break even around year 15 and save more than $200,000 in avoided energy bills over the life of the systems. (See full details in OWASA Agenda Packet from Sept 26, 2019). 7. How do the schools feel about the potential for ground-mounted solar in comparison to a rooftop system? Both OCS and CHCCS staff felt that a ground-mounted solar installation may be possible, but more research will be needed to determine what space is available and best-suited for this purpose. A list of potential rooftop and ground-mount sites can be proposed in the RFP that the schools release and solar companies can provide further feasibility information. 8. What specific school buildings or grounds might be good candidates for a solar installation? 14 OCS:There are plans underway to replace roof membranes on 3 schools this summer which may make them good candidates for solar. OCS staff wants to ensure that the installation of solar panels will not complicate the roof replacement work which has already been bid out and approved. OCS staff also pointed out that they already own and operate solar panels on the auxiliary gym at Cedar Ridge, and there are plans underway for a new addition at that school which might also make a good candidate for solar to be included in the design. CHCCS: Northside Elementary is likely to be the best location for a rooftop solar installation since it has: • The proper orientation • Solar-ready construction (i.e. -already has electrical conduit installed to accommodate a rooftop solar installation) • A flat roof with decades of life left in the roof membrane • A current emphasis on environmental education 9. Does installing a solar energy system on a roof impact the roof's warranty? No. When installed per the specifications of the roof system manufacturer, a solar array will not void the roof's warranty. When there is no pre-existing specification are for a particular combination of solar and roof systems, solar companies can work directly with the roof system manufacturer on a case-by-case basis.The maintenance of roof warranties can be written as a requirement in an RFP. 10. Are there any relevant restrictions on solar in our Unified Development Ordinance(UDO)? A third-party review of the solar regulations within Orange County's UDO was conducted in 2017 when the County was being certified as a SolSmart community at the Silver Level.According to that review at that time,there were several sections that might influence the design,function, and aesthetics of a school solar array depending on its size,type, and location. Orange County Sustainability staff plans to reach out to Planning staff for an updated review during the creation of the County's climate action plan. With more than 500 solar installations of various sizes currently operating throughout Orange County, solar developers are finding ways to work with Orange County's regulations.