Solar Energy Policy at MARC. A Presentation for the Missouri Municipal League Sheraton Crown Center - KCMO

Transcription

1 Solar Energy Policy at MARC A Presentation for the Missouri Municipal League Sheraton Crown Center - KCMO

2 Presentation Outline MARC Rooftop Solar Challenge Solar Ready KC and Solar Ready II Solar Best Management Practice Implementation Solar Ready Community Recognition Program Solar Mapping Lessons Learned 2

3 Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) Non-profit association of city and county governments The metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the bi-state Kansas City region Serve 9 counties and 119 cities Population: 2.1 million Area: 4,423 square miles 3

4 What is the Rooftop Solar Challenge? Part of U.S. DOE s SunShot Initiative Goal: Develop best management practices for reducing the non-hardware balance-of-system, or soft costs of solar photovoltaic systems 4

5 What is the Rooftop Solar Challenge? Rooftop Solar Challenge I awards were made in teams from across the country 5

6 Rooftop Solar I in KC: Solar Ready KC Started work in KC in 2012 Solar Ready KC Original Partners: o Clay County, Mo. o Johnson County, Kan. o Kansas City, Mo. o Lee s Summit, Mo. o Olathe, Kan. o Kansas City Power & Light 6

7 Best Management Practices Process Improvements Planning Improvements Financing Options 7

8 Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort MARC selected in July 2013 for Rooftop Solar Challenge II (1 of 8 teams) 8

9 Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort MARC s approach from Rooftop Solar I was expanded to a national scale Nine other regional planning councils came on-board Team now called Solar Ready II Solar Ready II is currently working with 275 jurisdictions that cover a population of over 22 million 9

10 Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort Nine other regional planning councils are: o Syracuse (Central NY Reg. Planning and Development Board) o Philadelphia (Delaware Valley RPC) o Phoenix (Maricopa Association of Governments) o DC (Metro Washington Council of Government) o Dallas/Ft. Worth (North Central TX Council of Government) o Portage, IN (Northwest Indiana RPC) o Cincinnati (OH/KY/IN Regional Council of Government) o Ft. Meyers (Southwest Florida RPC) o Tampa (Tampa Bay RPC) 10

11 Coordination The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) is coordinating the nine regional campaigns Meister Consultants Group (MCG) is helping with capacity building and training Each RPC charged with recruiting local governments to adopt solar-friendly best practices 11

12 Solar Ready II in KC MARC expanded the reach of Solar Ready KC by: o Working with additional local governments o Went from working with 5 to 26 jurisdictions o Launching new programs/projects 12

13 Best Management Practices Process Improvements Planning Improvements Financing Options 13

14 Planning Improvement: Address Solar in the Zoning Ordinance Add provisions to the zoning ordinance to clarify and regulate how solar is permitted Provisions should address: o Where solar is permitted o Rooftop v. ground-mounted installations o Allowable mounting: angled v. flush o Height limitations 14

15 Planning Improvement: Address Solar in the Zoning Ordinance Typical language in KC region: o Allowed in all zoning districts o Ground mounted v. roof mounted o Ground o Setbacks o Yards allowed o Roof o Allowed on principal and accessory structures o Limitations on angle from roof and/or height 15

16 Planning Improvement: Develop Solar-Ready Guidelines What is solar-ready construction? o Building orientation to maximize solar potential o Space to put conduit up to the roof o Roof pitch Why encourage solar-ready construction? o Make it easier for residents to go solar o Saves thousands of dollars upfront 16

17 Planning Improvement: Develop Solar Ready Guidelines 17

18 Process Improvement: Create a Permit Checklist Clarify up-front what the jurisdiction requires for submission along with the building permit form o Includes: o Site plan o Electrical diagram o Structural worksheet Saves city staff and solar installer time MARC Working to get all partner jurisdictions using the same checklist document 18

19 Solar Ready Community Recognition MARC program to recognize Solar Ready II jurisdictions for implementing: o Solar Best Management Practices (BMPs) o Other actions that promote solar Levels of Recognition: o Bronze o Silver o Gold

20 Solar Ready Community Recognition Communities recognized during first round: o Gladstone, MO (Gold) o Raymore, MO (Gold) o Belton, MO (Silver) o Lee s Summit, MO (Silver) o Liberty, MO (Silver) Next deadline to apply: October 2015

21 Solar BMPs Implemented All five jurisdictions addressed solar energy in their zoning ordinances All five made solar-ready construction guidelines available on their websites Belton, Lee s Summit and Liberty also implemented solar permit checklists and linked to MARC s solar mapping website Gladstone and Raymore created solar landing pages Gladstone also recently put solar on a city facility Raymore also has fixed fees for residential solar installations 21

22 Community Guide to Solar FAQs How to get started Why go solar Cost of solar Incentives 22

23 Solar Mapping 23

24 Lessons Learned Jurisdiction Recruitment o Phone and inquiries to staff contacts o One-on-one meetings with staff BMP Implementation o Zoning BMP: Provide examples from local peer jurisdictions o BMP with examples not enough providing templates allows jurisdictions to implement with ease o A carrot helps! Recognition program helped spur BMP implementation 24

25 Laura Machala Solar Energy Coordinator, Mid-America Regional Council