The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) met on Thursday, June 22, at 6:45 p.m. to hear member updates on grant pursuits to construct more EV infrastructure in Nederland. They also discussed the town’s limited options for a user-friendly solar garden program. Then the SAB voted to elect members to specific board roles.
Board members delivered updates on the various projects and goals being focused on by SAB subcommittees, including the Rights of Nature resolution which gives “fundamental and inalienable rights” to Nederland’s 448 square mile watershed.
Board member Rich Orman will speak with the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) on Tuesday, July 18, seeking approval for Resolution 2023, which gives the SAB power to appoint “environmental guardians” as part of the Rights of Nature resolutions 2021-11 and 2021-11a, adopted by Nederland on July 6, 2021.
An environmental guardian speaks for the rights of nature at local government meetings and hearings concerning issues that affect the town’s ecosystem, as well as keeping in contact with entities who have jurisdiction over matters concerning the ecosystem.
The SAB was made aware that the Boulder Bear Coalition and Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) unfortunately did not receive the Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant. The grant, funded by CPW, aims to assist communities in implementing measures to reduce human and bear interactions that can result in the animal being put down.
The Boulder Bear Coalition and BCPOS were partnering on a project to provide bear resistant trash cans, each costing $150 to $350 each, to underserved communities and neighborhoods at a severely reduced price. The Board unanimously voted on April 27, 2023 ,to support the partnership applying for $175,000 from the CPW grant.
The renewable energy gap analysis, provided for free by Xcel Energy and their community collaboration organization Partners in Energy, has been completed.
Using data from 2019 to 2022, in addition to an analytical approach, the gap remaining for the Town to reach its goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2025 was identified by “estimating the likely contribution of growth and energy efficiency on the forecasted 2025 electricity use for the Town as well as the likely contribution of renewable energy program participation.”
The Town of Nederland expected to receive the resulting data, as well as suggestions for potential strategies to help close any gap, by Thursday, June 29 after review by Boulder County.
Sustainability Coordinator Leah Haney discussed with the group updates concerning their push to provide more EV infrastructure in Nederland.
The Boulder County Personal Investment Enterprise (PIE) has submitted an application for the Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. The $7 million dollar program would provide Lafayette, Longmont, and Nederland with engineering and community outreach support, as well as project management, to provide EV infrastructure.
Boulder County has offered to provide the 30% required match for the grant and, if selected, a Request for Proposal from contractors would be released in 2024, with actual construction expected to begin in 2026.
Haney, within her Sustainability Coordinator’s report, provided an update on the Town’s efforts to sign up 300 residents to be a part of a community solar garden. The Town of Nederland began working with US Solar on July 5, 2022, expecting to sign residential customers up to existing solar gardens while developing a bid to Xcel Energy to construct a solar garden specific to Nederland.
US Solar subscription campaigns began in September, during which the SAB focused on marketing and promoting US Solar in an attempt to reach 300 more subscribers to get closer to Nederland’s goal of complete sustainability by 2025. At this time only 30 residents have signed on to US Solar.
Several user-related issues with the registration process and with US Solar’s website have caused delays in the SAB’s solar initiatives. The website was shut down for a period of time, precluding any new customers from signing up, while those who were able to sign up were either confused by the process or dissuaded by the perceived invasive requests for personal financial information.
There are also complaints from existing US Solar customers that involve the billing process, as customers have noted that receiving a bill from both US Solar and Xcel Energy causes concern and confusion.
Haney discussed with board members the prospect of ceasing to work with US Solar and instead seeking to contract with another provider who could more efficiently and expediently deliver on their promises. Though there were members with the opinion that the board had previously exhausted their options for solar providers, it was noted that a lot of progress could have been made in the intervening time.
Board members discussed the possibility of pursuing grants to help fund a consultant who could assist in public outreach as a way to gain more subscribers. Haney recommended Town Public Engagement Manager Peter Cacek to assist with outreach, and warned that the pursuit of grants would cost more time, with the SAB’s solar efforts having already been delayed by three months due to US Solar’s inability to mitigate their interface issues.
Haney updated the SAB on the Town of Nederland’s eligibility to apply for the Energy Improvements in Rural and Remote Areas program, provided by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, through the Department of Energy.
The program was awarded $1 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Those funds would assist the Town in upgrading transmission and distribution lines and improving existing grids, as well as installing standalone microgrids and geothermal heating. Nederland has until the end of July, 2023 to apply.
Also available from the Department of Energy, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs offers the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG), which could also fund an energy-related project proposed by the Town as long as the Town itself, or through resource partners, can prove capable of managing the project as well as maintaining it after completion.
SAB Chair Melody Baumhover suggested that the group propose to the EECBG a project involving connecting the Nederland Community Center, an emergency shelter, to its own microgrid. Board members were generally in favor of the suggested plan.
With members coming to the end of their terms and new members to be appointed in July, the SAB nominated and elected members to specific roles on the board.
BOT liaison to the SAB Trustee Nichole Sterling first inquired if the Secretary position was necessary due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, particularly transcription software. Sterling then offered to serve as Secretary, though she stated that she would be using an AI transcribing program to record the meeting’s minutes, claiming it to be easier and more efficient in filtering out discussion she deemed “not important.”
Baumhover was elected Co-Chair, and Orman was also elected as Co-Chair, though he specified that he would serve more as a Vice-Chair.
Orman and Board member Alan Apt were elected as Co-Chairs of the Guardians of Nature Subcommittee, and Haney was elected as the SAB representative on the Zero Waste Subcommittee.
The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board meets on the fourth Thursday of every month. Their next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 6:45 p.m. and can be attended online. For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/ sustainability-advisory-board.
