The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 7 p.m. to hear a presentation by US Solar on proposals for developing a Solar Garden in Nederland. The BOT also heard plans for the Town to partner with Xcel Energy to create an Electric Vehicle plan.

The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) has requested use of the Nederland Community Center (NCC) as an emergency evacuation site, with a formal agreement to be drafted pending BOT approval. The current agreement with the American Red Cross for use of the NCC as an emergency sheltering site requires renewal, also pending BOT approval.

The BOT approved the use of NCC as an emergency site for both BVSD and the American Red Cross.

Town Administrator Miranda Fisher presented to the BOT a question of whether they approve a Memorandum of Understanding, or agreement, between Xcel Energy and the Town for developing an Electric Vehicle (EV) Roadmap.

The partnership with Xcel Energy would be a two-year endeavor aimed at creating an EV plan that would best benefit Nederland and its community. By working with community representatives and identifying the core goals desired to be achieved by the implementation of the plan, Xcel Energy and town officials expect the partnership to be fruitful in identifying cost savings, supporting economic development, and benefiting energy sustainability for Nederland.

Fisher noted that the Town plans to put together an advisory committee to help develop the EV plan and extended an invitation for any interested Trustees to join the committee by contacting her by August 10, 2022. A kick-off meeting for the committee will be held on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Former Utilities Manager Jennifer Landon’s final day of service to the town of Nederland was on Saturday, June 4, 2022. On June 1, 2022, the Town hired Direct Discharge LLC as a contract Operator in Responsible Charge (ORC) of Nederland’s water, wastewater, collections, and distribution licenses; a required position for a municipality, formerly held by Landon.

Fisher presented to the BOT the recommendation to extend the contract with Direct Discharge LLC and the question of whether the BOT approves the new service agreement with the company. The Town currently does not have enough staff to fulfill the weekly duties currently covered by Direct Discharge LLC, and the two newest full-time employees who start in mid-July will need at least 30 to 60 days of training.

Trustee Eric Coombs-Esmail asked for clarification on the length of time the Town would be required to contract the ORC position to a third party. Fisher explained that finding a candidate who holds all four licenses (water, wastewater, collections, and distributions) is very difficult. Training current town staff for the ORC position would take up to four years. An “indefinite” contract with Direct Discharge LLC would be renegotiated at the time that Town staff is trained to provide respite for Direct Discharge’s staff, who currently cover duties weekly, Monday through Wednesday.

Trustees thanked Landon for her hard work and also thanked Kat McDonald, who has resigned as Nederland’s Utility Billing and Support Specialist. Fisher has been handling the Town’s utility billing, as it will take an estimated six weeks to fill McDonald’s position, and notes that there are 107 resident water meters that are not reading. The Town will be reaching out to these residents to ascertain the problem with the meters so they can collect accurate readings and bill accordingly.

The BOT discussed Solar Garden opportunities in Nederland after viewing a presentation on the subject from US Solar, a national full-service provider of solar products.

US Solar provided three options for energy sustainability that would decrease impact on Nederland’s limited available land while also serving the community. Each option provides kilowatt hours to different subscriber bases, from residential to small and large businesses.

The first option includes having Nederland residents subscribe to existing US Solar Community Solar Gardens (CSG) across Xcel Energy’s Colorado territory through a Partner Program beginning in Fall, 2022. The CSG utilized for this option would be outside of Nederland as bids from US Solar to construct them were accepted by Xcel Energy in 2020 and 2021. The timeline for this option is to begin marketing to residents to subscribe to US Solar in Fall, 2022; and residents (as well as agricultural organizations) will receive service once the CSG is constructed by Spring, 2023.

The second option is a partnership with Energy Outreach Colorado to provide Solar subscription donations to residents who earn low-to-moderate income. Residents would have to apply through Energy Outreach Colorado to verify that they qualify for the donated services, and the CSG utilized for this option would be outside of Nederland and would only service residential customers. Marketing to eligible residents would begin in Winter, 2022, and services would begin in early 2024. Eligible residents would receive donated services for the entire 20-year lifespan of the CSG.

The third option would be to develop a bid for a CSG specific to Nederland to be reviewed by Xcel Energy in November, 2022, in what is a highly competitive process. US Solar has been awarded bids for their CSG proposals for the last several years, propelling them to develop over 55 megawatts of community solar in Colorado. The custom CSG to be potentially constructed for this option would be in both Nederland and Xcel Energy territory. This option is the only opportunity for Nederland’s commercial businesses to subscribe to solar services. Due to the competitive bidding process, this would need to be decided on quickly to start the process in Fall, 2022, with the CSG expected to be constructed by late 2024.

Representative for US Solar Jillian Hansen and Sustainability Coordinator Eryka Thorley were present to answer the BOT’s questions about the three options and about US Solar’s operation and business practices.

Trustee Tania Corvalan asked for clarification on US Solar’s cost savings per customer and on their billing procedure. Hansen explained that their customers receive a 5% savings rate, equating to seven cents per kilowatt hour deducted from their Xcel bill. Hansen noted that Colorado customers use up to 8000 kilowatts a year, saving roughly $50. Hansen also clarified that billing is based on kilowatt production from the CSG, not on usage per household. Therefore customers will mainly receive a bill for service from US Solar and will receive a bill from Xcel Energy only when exceeding an allotted amount of kilowatt hours for that month.

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Mahowald sought assurance that US Solar wouldn’t experience any supply chain issues as far as sourcing solar panels, to which Hansen was confident that they would not.

Mahowald and Coombs-Esmail wished to understand more of US Solar’s operations, to ensure that they adhere to their promises and will be present and accountable for any of their customers’ concerns. Hansen noted that US Solar’s customer service team has expanded and there are teams devoted to handling residential and commercial concerns separately.

Coombs-Esmail asked whether Nederland would be entering into an exclusivity agreement or if the Town would be free to look into other solar providers. Hansen answered that there would be no exclusivity agreement.

Trustee Karen Blakemore inquired whether the Town has heard from other major solar providers that are more local to Colorado than US Solar. Thorley answered that though the Town has attempted to contact Pivot Energy, Namaste Solar, and Sunshare, communication with them has not been as open as with US Solar. Additionally, none of the other providers offer the 5% cost savings to their customers nor have the experience in the bidding process with Xcel Energy.

The BOT agreed that working with US Solar would be advantageous and that all three proposed options should be pursued simultaneously. Thorley, along with Nederland’s Sustainability Advisory Board, will continue conversations with Hansen and US Solar going forward.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Their next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 7 p.m. and can now be attended online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. For more information go to: https://townofnederland. colorado.gov/board-of-trustees