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1 Gainesville’s Public Utility, GRU Pegeen Hanrahan, P.E. The City of Sarasota June 2010
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2 Introduction to Gainesville City population is + 130,000 with more than 60 square miles – 14th largest in FL County population is + 250,000 with more than 930 square miles Home to the University of Florida Low tax base - rely heavily on municipal utility
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3 3 Gainesville Regional Utilities Municipally-owned Utility (electric, gas, water/wastewater, telecom) Self Generating 60% Coal 20% Natural Gas 5% Nuclear 0.5% Oil 1% Renewable Energy 15.5% Purchased power To be almost 22% renewable by 2013
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4 4 Gainesville Regional Utilities Governed by the Gainesville City Commission – Mayor is the Chair of the Board Annual revenues of $370 million, with $269 million from the electric utility; $34.4 million transfer to city Net capital assets in excess of $1 billion Over 90,000 residential and commercial electric customers Net generating capacity of 610 MW In process to obtain approval for a 100 MW biomass plant using waste wood with a private partner; Feed-in-Tariff has 32 MW in solar approved
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5 5 Gainesville Regional Utilities Double A bond rating by Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s – One of the top 20 bond ratings among public utilities, out of more than 2,000 nationwide Over 700 employees altogether Citizen input with two advisory committees and through commission Utility Committee and citizen comment held at every City Commission meeting
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Benefits of a Public Utility Local control – local elected officials set policy and rates, within regulatory guidelines Local revenues – GRU transfers $34.4 million into our general government budget of around $100 million. Covers most of the police department 6
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Public Utility Challenges Rates higher, on average, when compared to IOU’s Utility issues key to political debate, conflicts Board of Directors, staff seeking to meet multiple conflicting goals 7
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Difficult Energy Supply Debate From 2003-2006, debated need and technology for new base load supply Ultimately adopted policies to increase energy efficiency (TRC vs. RIM test) Came to focus on renewable and low carbon options, notably biomass and solar In 2007, the Florida Public Service Commission put a moratorium on new coal generation in Florida 10
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11 Strategies and Options Energy Efficiency Lowest kilowatt-hour usage per residential customer in Florida* Motivate Customers Rebates Information and Education Rate designs Renewable energy based on resource availability - Biomass and Solar Wind, hydro, geothermal, tidal not available *Among Florida generating utilities
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12 Energy Supply Changes Biomass Landfill Gas to Energy Solar (FIT, Rebates, Net Metering)
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13 Gainesville Renewable Energy Center 100-megawatt plant fueled by woody biomass – contract with private industry Carbon neutral Expected to create 525 local jobs 490 in the forestry industry 35 in the generating plant
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14 Landfill Gas to Energy New project at Marion County Baseline Landfill 3-megawatt facility GRU contract with Atlanta-based G2 Energy
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15 Our Focus on Cleaner Energy Joined ICLEI & Cities for Climate Protection in 1998 Signed US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2005 Today more than 1000 mayors have signed, committing to Kyoto Standards
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16 Reducing Pollutants Ambitious goals Four key strategies with focus on: Energy conservation Energy supply Transportation Land use planning
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17 Meeting Kyoto by 2013
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18 Energy Efficiency Incentives Rebates HVAC upgrades and maintenance Insulation Solar photovoltaic & solar thermal Duct repair LEEP whole-house program for low- income residents Over $20 million invested in our local economy by business and residential customers Low interest loans also available
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19 Energy Efficiency Incentives Cumulative results for FY 07 & FY 08 35,548 megawatt hours of electricity saved Enough to power over 3200 homes 6,060 kW of demand reductions 10% of all customers have participated
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20 GRU Customized Business Rebates Reduced energy consumption helped businesses weather the storm of higher fuel costs this summer Rebate offers up to $40,000 per site or up to 50% of project cost, whichever is less Sparking innovative business ideas to upgrade facilities Lighting retrofits most popular Example – Santa Fe College gym Business Incentives Are Key
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21 Santa Fe College Retrofit Before After
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22 Business Incentives Are Key Other programs include Smart Vendor, LED exit sign CRA incentives for LEED buildings 25% discount and fast-track building permits for LEED standards
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23 Municipals in Germany led the way Gainesville FIT announcement has drawn international attention Newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites Long-term guaranteed power purchase price is driving investors and new local solar contractors Implementing Solar Feed-In-Tariff
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24 Why Solar? Customer survey of 400 residential customers Would you support or oppose GRU ’ s efforts to encourage solar energy investments in your community if it would add one dollar or less per month to all customers ’ utility bills? Support: 75 percent Strong community environmental ethic Largest single source of energy on planet Great faith in continued advances in cost- effectiveness
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25 “ Signing Day ”
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26 Implementing Solar Feed-In-Tariff Since March, 2009 32 MW worth of projects have submitted applications, 4 MW/year Program will bring steady work for local trades Have increased solar capacity installed by a factor of more than six fold in 16 months
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27 What More Can We Do? Improve access to capital for building retrofits particularly for lower-income residents/renters Help bring down cost of solar technologies and energy efficiency equipment – FIT is working in this way Help established businesses, educational institutions, hospitals and other “big players” to see themselves as part of the solution
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Conclusion Best wishes for a successful outcome in Sarasota! 28
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29 Questions or Comments? Pegeen Hanrahan, P.E. pegeenhanrahan@aol.com 352-665-5939 mobile
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