The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) met on Thursday, August 24, 2023, at 6:45 p.m. to hear a presentation from Xcel Energy on the results of a gap analysis, showcasing the effort required for Nederland to achieve true energy sustainability, and providing suggestions as to how to remove the barriers to that goal.

The SAB discussed the results from the renewable electricity gap analysis, provided free by Xcel Energy, along with their community collaboration organization, Partners in Energy. The aim of the analysis is to provide data tracking of Nederland’s energy usage and to assist the town in reaching its goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2025.

Terry Hatfield and Abbye Neel, Community Facilitators for Partners in Energy, and Tami Gunderzik, who works in Customer Resolutions for Xcel Energy, provided board members with a presentation that showed the existing gap, displayed options for potentially reaching the goal by 2025, and identified the next steps for the SAB to take towards achieving that goal.

According to projections based on past research conducted by Xcel, Nederland will reach 63% renewable energy by 2025, leaving a 37% gap, or 4,000 MWh of the town’s roughly 10,000 MWh usage on a yearly basis.

Partners in Energy recommends the SAB continue using focus groups, collaborations with special events, and community resources – like the Nederland Community Library and Wild Bear Nature Center – in order to collect feedback from residents and businesses, gauge public interest in sustainability measures, and understand the barriers that impede renewable energy measures.

Partners in Energy’s suggestions for the board as to how to move forward included keeping the current goal of 100% renewable energy by 2025, adjusting the timeline, or pivoting entirely to “better align with community priorities.”

To keep the current goal, the Town must shift usage to 4,000 more MWh of renewables. Partners in Energy suggested instituting energy efficiency campaigns, engaging a community solar garden program and a rooftop solar program, and having all of Nederland’s municipal buildings run on solar energy.

As for adjusting the timeline, they suggested to align with Boulder County’s goal of 100% by 2030 or to have municipal buildings be 100% solar-operated to serve as an example. This includes contracting with Renewable Connect Flex in order to procure 359 MWh for $3,591 by 2025, or to purchase an on-site system for an installation fee of $400,000.

It was noted that the Town currently has a contract with Oak Leaf Energy Partners for connection to a solar garden that was responsible for generating 84% of the energy for Nederland’s municipal buildings in 2022.

Partners in Energy indicated that if the Town were to pivot from the goal of 100% renewable energy, it should identify community priorities regarding sustainability. The presentation recommended, as an example of where to adjust its focus, that the Town pursue reducing its natural gas emissions; it stated that electrifying buildings increases “home comfort and wellbeing.”

Board members discussed the prospect of extending the deadline for 100% renewable energy to 2030, as well as possibly gathering data from the community regarding sustainability priorities through the outreach efforts of the third-party consultants working on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan update.

Of the three options suggested by Partners in Energy, the SAB were mostly in favor of remaining on task with the current goal of 100% renewable energy by 2025, though the board did not take a formal vote on the matter. They stated that the discussion would continue during a future meeting.

Board members were to discuss, along with the Town of Nederland’s department heads, how the SAB can best support Town staff in relation to sustainability in day-to-day operations. Due to attendance issues, and to provide board members and department heads enough time to review the matter, the discussion was delayed until the next scheduled SAB meeting on September 28.

Board members also discussed what sustainability-based project the SAB and Town of Nederland will propose to the University of Colorado Boulder’s Masters of the Environment (MENV) program for this year’s capstone project, to be conducted by the program’s students.

Last year the SAB proposed an electrification roadmap for Nederland; the board presumes that the project was not chosen due to its large scope and because of the lack of immediate impact or results for students to review after the one-semester course.

The board reviewed their own prioritized goals in order potentially to choose a project to present as an option for this year’s MENV program. Adopting solar-friendly language in Nederland’s Municipal Code (NMC) and a plastic bag ban are two of the current sustainability-based goals set for 2024.

After a conversation about the possibility of Nederland adopting the International Energy Conservation Code (as opposed to writing new language in NMC), a suggestion was made to propose that the MENV program research options for funding sources for the SAB. This suggestion led to a conversation about becoming a home-rule municipality and about identifying areas where fees should be enforced, such as a plastic bag fee.

The SAB will continue the discussion of choosing a project to propose to the MENV during a future meeting.

The SAB were tasked with voting on supporting the Colorado Communities For Climate Action (CC4CA) Community Choice Energy/Community Choice Aggregation (CCE/CCA) policy in 2024. The Town of Nederland supported the CCE/CCA in 2021.

The CC4CA is a collaborative of local governments that advocates for state and federal policies that support clean air and water, as well as the reduction of fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The CCE/CCA is a policy that permits communities served by a single utility provider, such as Xcel Energy, to be able to choose from other wholesale suppliers, with individual residents given the opportunity to opt out of the community choice for utilities. The policy would provide that utility provider with an exit fee to cover income lost due to resident cancellations.

SAB Chair Melody Baumhover suggested that the board continue supporting the CCE/CCA policy and no objections were made.

The SAB, along with Partners In Energy, will be presenting the Ride and Drive EV event on Sunday, September 17 at the Nederland Farmers Market. The event will offer attendees the opportunity to experience driving an EV.

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board meets on the fourth Thursday of every month. Their next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 28, at 6:45 p.m. and can be attended online.

For more information go to: https:// townofnederland.colorado.gov/sustainability-advisory-board