The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My Public Portal About20130808Tybee Preliminary Assessment prepared by WFN.pdfWFN Solar, LLC 145 Church St., Suite 200 Marietta, GA 30060 770‐420‐5634 www.wfnconsulting.com • solar@wfnconsulting.com TYBEE ISLAND Solar Electric Project Assessments Energy‐C WFN Solar, LLC Providing Alternative Solutions for Today’s Energy-Conscious Communities I. Executive Summary This assessment was undertaken by WFN Solar and remained consistent with the missions of the City of Tybee Island for this project: • Consider alternatives aimed at offsetting as much energy usage as possible with clean renewable power; and • Demonstrate the City’s commitment to renewable energy and a more sustainable energy portfolio. Upon the completion of our initial review regarding Tybee Island’s municipal facilities as candidates for solar installation, it was determined that seven of the eight locations [Police Department was deemed not viable due to impending demolition] have potential for solar PV systems. The locations that were assessed included the Police Department, River’s End Campground, Water and Sewer Treatment Plant, Gym, Public Works Facility, YMCA Annex, Fire Department-Admin Building, and City Hall. The individual assessments for these buildings included a review of the geographic placement of buildings, roof type and size, wind zone requirements for the area, and age of roofing system. This report will present an examination of the electricity usage as it relates to the properties referenced above for the City of Tybee Island and options for moving forward that would be economically viable for the City. The preliminary assessment also included a review of the total energy consumption by building location for the City of Tybee Island. The two largest consumers of electricity in the 24 month period from May 2011 to April 2013 were the Water/Sewer Plant and River’s End Campground. In addition, the review of the energy consumption shows that only the two locations mentioned above consumed over 200,000 kWh during each of the examined 12 months of utility bills. 2 | Page Source: City of Tybee Island Georgia Power Utility Bills (May 2011-April 2013) Source: City of Tybee Island Georgia Power Utility Bills (May 2011-April 2013) $‐$10,000.00 $20,000.00 $30,000.00 $40,000.00 $50,000.00 $60,000.00 $70,000.00 $80,000.00 $90,000.00 $100,000.00 Total Annual Energy Costs by Building ($) Total Energy Costs ($) 5/2011‐4/2012 Total Energy Costs ($) 5/2012‐4/2013 3 | Page Based on of our assessment, the remainder of this report will outline areas where the City of Tybee Island could pursue solar as a sustainable alternative energy platform. Once these alternatives have been reviewed, and the City wishes to continue their pursuit for solar energy, WFN Solar welcomes the opportunity to provide further assistance in this endeavor. The four alternatives discussed in the following pages are: • The Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative; • Solar Ground Mount Systems; • Mixed-Install Solar System; • Viability of Roofing Retrofits. 4 | Page II. Purpose of Assessment The purpose of this assessment is to provide general guidance regarding the possible alternatives for pursuing Solar Electric (also referred to as photovoltaic, or PV) systems for the City of Tybee Island. This information is derived as part of a general PV preliminary assessment where various estimated factors were taken in to account including actual roof size of potential structures, shading of areas within the assessed site locations, energy consumption and production, mounting options [roof or ground mount], and economic feasibility. III. Aerial Images of Assessed Locations Below are aerial photos for the sites that were included in our preliminary assessment. a. City Hall (403 Butler Avenue) 5 | Page b. River’s End Campground (5 Fort Avenue) c. Public Works Facility (76 Polk Street) 6 | Page d. Water/Sewer Plant (0 Polk Avenue) e. Fire Department (510 Jones Street) 7 | Page f. Gym (202 5th Street) g. YMCA Annex (204 5th Street) 8 | Page IV. Current Electricity Usage A review of the electricity consumption across eight (8) city-owned properties revealed that the average combined annual cost for electricity for the City is just over $222,000. The largest consumers of electric costs are the Water/Sewer Plant and River’s End Campground, which use roughly 65% of the energy that is consumed at the eight locations. The total annual kWh hours used on average from May, 2011 to April, 2013 is just over 2.1 million. As an example, the City of Tybee Island is presently paying over $222,000 for its electricity but a reduction of 20% would decrease electric costs by $44,000 per year. While the exact savings cannot be known until a specific system is designed and engineered, the example reduction rate of 20% would be a minimum target. V. Solar Electric (PV) System Alternatives WFN’s preliminary assessment revealed that several factors could decrease any economic gain that may be made from the installation of a comprehensive PV system. They include: 1) lack of tax credits for local governments through leasing programs, 2) aging roof structures, and 3) structural design of systems for compliance with all applicable code requirements. The economics for the City would be such that annual costs for the system may become burdensome and place additional strain on the finances of the City if the proper due diligence is not performed. a. Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative The Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative (ASI) is a program that was approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission in November, 2012. This program allows for third party leases through developers with the condition that all solar power generated through installed PV systems are sold back to GA Power at a fixed rate of $0.13/kW for 20 years. Additionally, any equipment leased to the City would provide eligibility for the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to offset project costs. In order to take advantage of this program, the City would need to submit an application for each site where a PV system is desired. Although the application period has closed for 2013, it is anticipated that Georgia Power will reopen the application process in December 2013 or January 2014. 9 | Page If the City wishes to move forward with the Georgia Power ASI, WFN Solar would be willing to assist in preparation and submission of all applications on behalf of the City. b. Solar Ground Mount Systems After reviewing the available land around the eight potential properties, there are two areas that appear viable for siting of a PV ground mount system. The first location is on the northern side of the Water Treatment plant. The proposed location may be seen below in the yellow highlighted box. This type of system is recommended at this location as it reduces the overall cost of installation and accelerates the payback period due to lack of needed retrofits to existing roof structures. The location for this proposed system at the Water Plant would be ideal as the location consumes the most electricity of any City location on a monthly and annual basis. Although the areas around the plant are environmentally sensitive, the ground mounted system, or any portion thereof, would not be placed within any buffer or dune area. The second location to consider a PV ground-mount system is the area on the western end of Memorial Park along Jones Ave between the Fire Station and the Tybee Island Cremation Wall. This area would not interfere with any existing activity at Memorial Park nor affect any parking that would take place on the City rights-of-way. The location for this system, depending on the size, would be able to service multiple areas of Memorial Park at any given time. Additionally, this area has the least amount of obstructions facing the needed southern 10 | Page direction for the solar panels. The system in this location would be designed and engineered in such a manner to ensure that the impact on the natural environment of the park would be minimal. c. Mixed-Install Solar Electric System After conducting our assessment, the current nature and condition of the roofs of the buildings in the Memorial Park, there is the possibility of creating a mixed- install PV system. This type of installation would create two roof-mounted units on the Gym and Cafeteria, which both appear to have newer roofs on them, and would also utilize a ground-mounted system along the western portion of Memorial Park. A system of this design type would provide ample PV output. 11 | Page d. Additional Roof Mounted Systems This would be the most expensive of all recommendations, but if the buildings at Memorial Park received full retrofits on their roofs, the stability of those roofs would be enough to sustain the increased load of solar panels. This would allow the standard roof-mounted system to be located on top of each building without damaging the roof during installation. If this is an option the City wishes to pursue, the cost of the PV system installation would drop to such a level that the economics may become viable to complete a comprehensive roof-mounted system throughout Memorial Park without the need for a ground-mounted system. If this is an option that the City wishes to consider, the City would be encouraged to ensure that the roofs are “solar ready” upon installation. The most compatible roofing design for this option would be a standing seam roof where the solar panels will provide additional support for the roof. 12 | Page VI. Conclusion The alternatives outlined above are recommendations for the City of Tybee Island and are provided to assist the City with various alternatives for pursuing a sustainable solar PV system to supplement their current electric usage. This report is provided only as a preliminary assessment and should the City wish to pursue any of the recommended alternatives, WFN Solar would be willing to assist the City in system design, project management and administration, if requested by the City of Tybee Island.