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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
April 21, 2014
5:00 PM, City Council Chambers
MEETING AGENDA
I. NREL Renewable Energy Alternatives, Part 2 of 3
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: William Dolan, Utilities Project Coordinator
THRU: David Hornbacher, Director of Utilities and Environmental Initiatives
DATE OF MEMO: April 15th, 2014
DATE OF MEETING: April 21st, 2014
RE: NREL Renewable Energy Analysis, Part 2 of 3
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: In January of 2013, Council gave staff direction to begin
researching additional renewable energy options. Subsequently, the City contracted with NREL to
analyze the City’s renewable energy alternatives, and devise a work plan that encourages informed
decision-making on the part of Council to meet the 100% by 2015 goal (or as close to it as practicable).
NREL delivered their first presentation to Council on November 19th, during which Council approved of
staff’s recommended renewable energy and REC policies, and each Council member had an opportunity
to choose their highest priority renewable energy project criteria. Tonight’s presentation marks NREL’s
second presentation, during which Council will begin prioritizing the identified renewable alternatives.
The third and final presentation will be delivered on July 29th, 2014.
BACKGROUND:
• Step 1: November 19th, 2013. During that work session, Staff and NREL representatives
covered foundational concepts and background information (contract history, conceptual
definitions, etc.)—effectively laying the groundwork for steps 2 and 3.
• Step 2: April 21st, 2014. This step will involve a surface-level presentation of all alternatives
explored by NREL, and assessed according to the project criteria chosen during Step 1. Staff
requests that Council select ~3 alternatives from this list for final research/investigation by
NREL. The results of this research will be the subject of Step 3.
• Step 3: July 29th, 2014. This final step will involve a more in-depth presentation of the
alternatives chosen by Council during Step 2. Again, the final alternative(s) will be assessed
according to the chosen criteria from Step 1. The end goal of this step is to receive clear direction
from Council regarding which alternative(s) staff should actively pursue—setting a clear course
forward towards Aspen’s renewable energy goals.
DISCUSSION: In leveraging NREL’s resources and expertise, staff is trying to create an unbiased,
thorough, and structured forum in which members of Council are presented with all feasible project
options, and all their most relevant characteristics. This 3-step process is designed to have Council
progressively hone-in on the best alternative(s), and ultimately give staff explicit direction to actively
pursue those favorites to meet the community’s renewable energy goal.
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FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The price of Aspen’s wholesale fossil-fuel energy has been escalating faster
than anticipated (8% in 2013, and 12.5% in 2014), making renewable alternatives even more
competitive from a pure cost standpoint. Currently, our coal and gas-based energy has a wholesale unit
cost of ~$0.085/kWh, projected to total ~$1,700,000 this year (including all capacity and delivery
charges).
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: The end goal of this analysis is to find the best possible way(s) to
meet Aspen’s 100% renewable energy goal, reducing Aspen’s GHG emissions and setting an example
for other municipal electric utilities to follow. Locally speaking, reaching 100% renewable energy
means reducing consumption of coal/gas-based electricity by approximately 15-20 million kWh/yr (this
equates to approximately 30-40 million lbs of avoided CO2 emissions per year).
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
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ATTACHMENTS:
1) Aspen Renewables Progress (2002-2015) Graph
2) 2014 Projected Resource Mix
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1) Aspen Renewables Progress (2002
2) 2014 Projected Resource Mix
-
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
80,000,000
200220032004
Aspen Renewables Progress (2002
Total Demand (KWh)
Total Nuclear
2%
2014 Projected Resource Mix
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Aspen Renewables Progress (2002-2015) Graph
2014 Projected Resource Mix
2005200620072008200920102011 2012
Aspen Renewables Progress (2002
Total Demand (KWh)Total enewables (KWh)Gap (KWh)
Total Hydro
49%
Total Wind
28%
Total Coal/Gas
21%
2014 Projected Resource Mix
2012 20132014*2015*
Aspen Renewables Progress (2002-2015)
Gap (KWh)
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