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Government Operations

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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A solar system that has not been granted permission to operate (PTO), is not allowed to produce electricity which can have economic impacts for the system owner. To reduce economic loss, local governments can coordinate with the electric utility to ensure solar PV systems can begin operation as soon as it has been confirmed that the systems are properly constructed and connected to the grid. Consolidating and/or coordinating local government inspections and utility interconnection inspections can save time and money for solar installers and property owners.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide details about the coordination process and explaining how this process reduces the time between inspection and Permission to Operate

Community Examples:

·         Leon County, FL | SolSmart Gold

Resources:

·         Utility Engagement | SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments

10 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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Local governments can leverage their relationship with electric utilities to encourage increased support for, and development of, solar energy. Local governments and utilities can partner to provide community solar programs, solar incentives, and help improve the solar interconnection process. Utilities can also help local governments meet municipal or community-wide renewable energy goals by procuring large amount of solar energy.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide meeting minutes (including a list of follow-up action items), e-mail correspondence, meeting agenda, materials prepared for the meeting (e.g., handouts and slides), or other evidence that at least one meeting occurred with your local utility.

Community Examples:

·         Minneapolis, MN | SolSmart Gold

·         Missoula, MT | SolSmart Silver

Resources:

·         Making Solar & Electrification Policies Mutually Beneficial | SolSmart Webinar

·         Procurement Guidance | American Cities Climate Challenge Renewables Accelerator

·         Solar & Electrification, A Beneficial Partnership | SolSmart Issue Brief

·         Utilizing City-Utility Partnership Agreements to Achieve Climate and Energy Goals | World Resources Institute (WRI)

10 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Local governments can find strength in numerous as they advance ambitious energy transformation goals. Collaborating with other local governments and/or regional organizations allows resources, expertise, and staff to be pooled together which can enhance efforts to work with utilities. Networks of communities and utilities can provide opportunities to share best practices and common strategies through peer-to-peer learning. They can also help build coalitions and advocate for state policy.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provides details about your community’s participation in coordinated efforts between local governments and/or regional organizations to engage utilities with the goal of advancing solar initiatives.

Community Examples:

·         Salt Lake City, UT | SolSmart Bronze

Resources:

·         Engagement Tracker | American Cities Climate Challenge

·         PJM Cities & Communities Coalition | World Resources Institute (WRI)

·         Procurement Guidance | American Cities Climate Challenge Renewables Accelerator

·         Utilizing City-Utility Partnership Agreements to Achieve Climate and Energy Goals | World Resources Institute (WRI)

10 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Local governments can lead by example and install solar PV on their facilities and/or land to achieve clean energy goals and generate electricity cost savings. The first step is conducting a feasibility analysis to discover which rooftops or grounds have the highest solar potential and best characteristic for a solar installation. An RFP can then be issued for the most favorable sites.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a link to the feasibility analysis or details about the feasibility analysis that was conducted – who conducted, what were the sites, when was it conducted, what were the recommendations and next steps.

Community Examples:

·         Asheville, NC | SolSmart Gold

·         Mountain Iron, MN | SolSmart Bronze

Resources:

·         Decision Support Tools for Local Solar Planning & Development | SolSmart Webinar

·         Guide to Implementing Solar PV for Local Governments | Solar Outreach Partnership (SolarOPs)

·         Solar Development on Public Facilities and Under-utilized Land | SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments

·         System Advisor Model (SAM) | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Local governments can lead by example and install solar on their facilities and/or land to achieve clean energy goals. Solar installations can generate revenue for local governments, deliver electricity cost savings, and serve as an educational tool for community members.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide news articles, a press release announcing the commissioned system, or webpage that summarizes the details of the installation(s) including total number of systems, size, location, and photos.

Community Examples:

·         Johnson County, IA | SolSmart Gold

·         New York City, NY | SolSmart Gold

Resources:

·         Procurement Guidance | American Cities Climate Challenge Renewables Accelerator

·         Solar Decision Support and Resources for Local Governments | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

·         Solar Development on Public Facilities and Under-utilized Land | SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments

·         Solar Power Purchase Agreements: A Toolkit for Local Governments | Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC)

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

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Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

As large, open spaces with limited future uses, brownfields, landfills, and other under-utilized lands are favorable locations for solar PV systems. Local governments can lease these lands for solar development to increase locally installed solar capacity while generating land lease revenue.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a news article, a press release announcing the commissioned system, or webpage that summarizes the details of the installation(s) including total number of systems, size, location, and photos.

Community Examples:

·         Cary, NC | Not Designated

·         Eau Claire, WI | SolSmart Gold

Resources:

·         Developing Solar on Brownfields | SolSmart Webinar

·         RE-Powering America’s Land | Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

·         Solar Development on Public Facilities and Under-utilized Land | SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments

·         The Guide to Developing Solar Photovoltaics at Massachusetts Landfills | Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

File name:

File size:

Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Solar can provide unique benefits when paired with other distributed energy technologies. Co-locating solar with other technologies can improve resilience, provide demand-charge reductions, and charging electric vehicles with a renewable source of energy.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a news article, a press release announcing the commissioned system, or webpage that summarizes the details of the solar installation(s) integrated with other technologies including total number of systems, size, location, technologies used, and photos.

Community Examples:

·         Boulder, CO | SolSmart Gold

·         Montgomery County, MD | SolSmart Gold

Resources:

·         Best Practices for Solar & Electric Bus Charging at Transit Agencies | SolSmart Webinar

·         REopt: Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

·         Solar and Electric Vehicles: A Guide for Local Governments | SolSmart

·         Solar & Electric Vehicle Best Practices for Local Governments | SolSmart Webinar

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

File name:

File size:

Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Solar can provide resilience benefits and serve as emergency backup power to local government facilities in case of a power outage. Local governments have leveraged solar PV and storage to provide lighting for evacuation routes, power to shelters, and extend the fuel supply of diesel generation. Solar plus storage can also be used to provide demand-charge reductions by reducing peak load.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a news article, a press release announcing the commissioned system, or webpage that summarizes the details of the solar installation(s) plus storage including total number of systems, size, location, and photos.

Community Examples:

·         Fayetteville, AR | SolSmart Gold

·         Portland, OR | Not Designated

Resources:

·         REopt: Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

·         Resiliency: Solar + Storage | SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments

·         Solar + Storage: A Guide for Local Governments | SolSmart Issue Brief

·         Solar and Energy Storage for Resiliency (Solar Resilient) | San Francisco Department of the Environment

·         Solar + Storage / Resiliency | CUNY Smart Distributed Generation Hub

10 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

File name:

File size:

Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

Local governments can lead by example and require new facilities or those completing a retrofit to be solar ready. Solar ready construction can reduce the installation costs if a solar system will be installed at some point in the future. Solar ready buildings are designed and engineered in such a way that allows for the easy installation of a future solar system.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a link to adopted code(s) or language that require new construction and/or retrofits of local government facilities to be solar ready.

Community Examples:

·         Montgomery County, MD | SolSmart Gold

Resources:

·         Solar-Ready Building Design: A Summary of Technical Considerations | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

20 points

Please supply documentation to support this question. You can either upload a file or provide a link. Please indicate where in your documentation we should look to find the sections that are relevant to this question.

File name:

File size:

Please include 'http://' or 'https://' at the beginning of your link.

To meet climate and energy goals, local governments can procure a large amount of solar energy through an appropriate structure, depending on the types of contracts allowed by state and utility regulations.
Recommended Verification:

·         Provide a document such as a news article, contract, press release, or similar official document containing the details how the local government is procuring solar energy.

Community Examples:

·         Cincinnati, OH | Not Designated

·         Denton, TX | SolSmart Silver

Resources:

·         How Cities Benefit from Power Purchase Agreements | Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)

·         How Local Governments Can Buy Renewable Energy & Support Market Development | SolSmart Webinar

·         Local Government Strategies for 100% Clean Energy | SolSmart Webinar

·         Procurement Guidance | American Cities Climate Challenge Renewables Accelerator

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Government Operations Point Total

160/160*

*Points are unverified
Total Application Points

160*

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  • 0 Permitting & Inspection (20 req.)
  • 0 Planning & Zoning (20 req.)
  • 160 Government Operations
  • 0 Community Engagement
  • 0 Market Development
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