Category Archives: Energy Committee

WWTP solar analytics

Posted on June 20, 2016 | Comments Off on WWTP solar analytics

The solar installation at the Waste Water Treatment Plant went on-line recently, and residents can now track how much electricity it is generating for them.  This was the email today about access to the on-line analytics, which are really pretty cool.  The school kids would love to see how much electricity is being generated, and the global warming savings it causes –

Good morning everyone,

 

Below is the link to view real-time production of the solar array.  The initial screen will show the lifetime kWh production and instantaneous kW output.  The “Site Analytics” tab will allow you to view historic data.  (Note: there is only one week of historical data available as that data logger was only recently installed.  However this doesn’t affect the lifetime kWh number.)

 

http://www.solrenview.com/SolrenView/mainFr.php?siteId=4234

 

FYI we pay approx $0.13/kWh, so as of today we have saved $5,600 in utility costs since the system came online.

 

Best Regards,

Andrew

 

Andrew Seaman

Energy and Facilities Manager

Town of Medfield

459 Main St

Medfield, MA 02052

Office: (508) 906-3013

Comments Off on WWTP solar analytics

Posted in Energy Committee, Uncategorized

Energy use by building

Posted on June 9, 2016 | Comments Off on Energy use by building

The following data on energy use by the various town buildings was presented to the selectmen Tuesday evening by Andrew Seaman, Facilities Manager.  I found the second graph especially interesting, as it presents the energy use per building size.  Andrew indicated that there  were start up problems at the Garage which hiked up the natural gas usage, and that this past winter I believe he indicated the usage was about half what is noted here.  The Pfaff Center is not surprising, given its age.  The national average energy usage for schools Andrew as being 59 KBTO/sqft/year, but many of those schools do not have our winters.  The Center had high usage for a new building.  The Wheelock school is amazing at how energy efficient it is, given that it has single pane windows and has to be fifty years old.

On the first slide I noted the high energy use by water pumps, and Andrew said that is almost entirely well 6 (off Rte. 27 at the Charles River), which is our most productive well and most used well – it takes a lot of energy to move that water up into the water tower.

The third slide was the real reason for Andrew’s presentation, as the town needs to have a plan to reduce our energy usage by 20%, over our base line year, as the last item needed for our qualifying under the Green Communities Act.  Andrew was gathering the actual energy use data in order to craft the plan on where that next 20% savings could be found, and that is what he has started to set forth in that third slide.

The Energy Committee made the current 20% reduction task tougher for the town by virtue of the fact that the Energy Committee’s initiatives have already reduced the town energy usage by 30%.

Finally, please know that I did rotate the slides before I saved and uploaded them, but still ended up askew.

20160609-Building energy use data_Page_120160609-Building energy use data_Page_220160609-Building energy use data_Page_3

Comments Off on Energy use by building

Posted in Energy Committee, Select Board matters, Uncategorized

Energy Committee doings

Posted on June 7, 2016 | Comments Off on Energy Committee doings

MEC

Meeting next on June 9th at 7:30 PM in the DPW Garage’s conference room.

MEC Meeting Minutes – May  12th, 2016

Attendance: Fred Bunger, Lee Alinsky, Pete Peterson, Maciej Konieczny, Fred Davis, Marie Nolan,  Andrew Seaman by phone.

  1. To begin the meeting, we linked in to an MCAN webinar on the new state energy bill. Speakers were:

Caitlin Sloane Peale from Conservation Law Foundation concerning State Energy Sourcing

Amber Hewett from the National Wildlife Federation about opportunities for offshore wind generation

Eugenia Gibbons from Mass Energy Alliance talking about opposition to new gas pipelines

Josh Craft from the Environmental League of Massachusetts encouraged contacting our State representatives.

The Energy Committee discussed writing as a group, but decided each member should act individually.

  1. April 7th and April 21st meeting minutes accepted with corrections.
  2. Energy Manager’s Report
    1. WWTP Solar: generating and exporting electricity, fixing issues with one inverter and data acquisition.
    2. DPW Solar: 150KW system, need help to write RFP for design/build project(SDA not available)
    3. Public Safety Building: 61KW system being installed as change order by general contractor. Bids out by end of May.
    4. Andrew announced that he is leaving the Medfield Energy Manager job and will be relocating his family to the Philadelphia area.
  3. Solarize Massachusetts: Select Board approved Solarize project April 19th. Website for Solarize Medfield is live and there are already 6 sign-ups.  RFP to select installers was sent into Solarize Mass for review.  Plan to select installer by end of June and schedule a “meet the installer” by the end of July.
  4. Green Communities 20% Energy Reduction Plan
    1. Baseline year 2015 selected as having a full year of Energy Insight data and being a relatively cold year. Year runs July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.
    2. An energy conservation program will need to be developed for each Town Department/major energy user.
    3. Discussed having each member of the Energy Committee volunteer to work with Andrew and the Department staff to conduct audits and to develop each Town Department’s energy conservation plan.
    4. A suggested division of plans

– Water & Sewer Department   –  energy committee volunteer: Fred Bunger

– Department of Public Works – ??

– Elementary Schools – ??  work with Alan Peterson

– Middle School & High School – ??  work with Alan Peterson

– Traffic and Street lighting – ??

– Town House and Library -??

–  The Center and Parks and Recreation – ??

  1. Andrew will determine if it would be helpful to include Housing Authority’s Tilden Village in the baseline and conservation plans.
  2. Meeting was adjourned at 9:20

Next Meeting:  Thursday June 9th

Comments Off on Energy Committee doings

Posted in Energy Committee, Uncategorized

Energy Committee on 5/12

Posted on May 17, 2016 | Comments Off on Energy Committee on 5/12

MEC

MEC Meeting Minutes – May  12th, 2016

Attendance: Fred Bunger, Lee Alinsky, Pete Peterson, Maciej Konieczny, Fred Davis, Marie Nolan,  Andrew Seaman by phone.

  1. To begin the meeting, we linked in to an MCAN webinar on the new state energy bill. Speakers were:

Caitlin Sloane Peale from Conservation Law Foundation concerning State Energy Sourcing

Amber Hewett from the National Wildlife Federation about opportunities for offshore wind generation

Eugenia Gibbons from Mass Energy Alliance talking about opposition to new gas pipelines

Josh Craft from the Environmental League of Massachusetts encouraged contacting our State representatives.

The Energy Committee discussed writing as a group, but decided each member should act individually.

  1. April 7th and April 21st meeting minutes accepted with corrections.
  2. Energy Manager’s Report
    1. WWTP Solar: generating and exporting electricity, fixing issues with one inverter and data acquisition.
    2. DPW Solar: 150KW system, need help to write RFP for design/build project(SDA not available)
    3. Public Safety Building: 61KW system being installed as change order by general contractor. Bids out by end of May.
    4. Andrew announced that he is leaving the Medfield Energy Manager job and will be relocating his family to the Philadelphia area.
  3. Solarize Massachusetts: Select Board approved Solarize project April 19th. Website for Solarize Medfield is live and there are already 6 sign-ups.  RFP to select installers was sent into Solarize Mass for review.  Plan to select installer by end of June and schedule a “meet the installer” by the end of July.
  4. Green Communities 20% Energy Reduction Plan
    1. Baseline year 2015 selected as having a full year of Energy Insight data and being a relatively cold year. Year runs July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.
    2. An energy conservation program will need to be developed for each Town Department/major energy user.
    3. Discussed having each member of the Energy Committee volunteer to work with Andrew and the Department staff to conduct audits and to develop each Town Department’s energy conservation plan.
  5. Andrew will determine if it would be helpful to include Housing Authority’s Tilden Village in the baseline and conservation plans.
  6. Meeting was adjourned at 9:20

Next Meeting:  Thursday June 9th

Comments Off on Energy Committee on 5/12

Posted in Energy Committee, Uncategorized

Medfield home solar PV

Posted on May 11, 2016 | Comments Off on Medfield home solar PV

solar on house

The Medfield Energy Committee (MEC) has sponsored a SolarizeMedfield program to assist home owners in town to group together and thereby increase their buying power, so as to get lower rates from one solar PV installer, that the MEC will select from among those who apply.

SolarizeMedfield is being run for the town by the gracious efforts of Marie Zack Nolan, a LEED certified engineer with The Green Engineer, LLP in Concord, a former Warrant Committee member, and the long serving original chair of the MEC.

Click through to the website for more information.

 

Comments Off on Medfield home solar PV

Posted in Energy Committee, Green, Uncategorized

Watch the ribbon cutting

Posted on May 3, 2016 | Comments Off on Watch the ribbon cutting

solar at WWTP

See and hear the ceremony preceding the ribbon cutting for the  solar PV at the Waste Water Treatment Plant

 Solar_Ribbon_Cutting_Video_04-28-16.mov

Comments Off on Watch the ribbon cutting

Posted in Energy Committee, Green, Uncategorized, Water & Sewer

Medfield’s 1st solar PV

Posted on April 29, 2016 | Comments Off on Medfield’s 1st solar PV

solar at WWTP

Representative Shawn Dooley reads a Proclamation from the Legislature, with Mike Sullivan, Jeremy Marsette, Mark Fisher and my better half (I barely made the photo) looking on.

Medfield First Solar PV Array opened at the Waste Water Treatment Plant on 4/28/16

The new 237 KW solar PV array at the Waste Water Treatment Plant went online after a ribbon cutting yesterday.  This opening was the combined achievement of Energy Committee member Fred Davis obtained a $12,500 state DOER grant for the town in 2014 that allowed the Committee to study solar options in three town locations, the Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator, Bob McDonald, getting a $180,000 state grant for almost half the construction costs, and the Energy Committee pushing the project forward to completion via eh efforts of its staff person, Facilities Manager, Andrew Seaman.

It is actually a hugely instructive lesson in how important a paid town staff person is to a volunteer town committee, as this whole process did not really take off until Andrew was hired and began to staff the Energy Committee and its meetings.

Adam Stuhlman wrote a good article for the Medfield Press – click at

http://medfield.wickedlocal.com/article/20160428/NEWS/160425550/?Start=1

Comments Off on Medfield’s 1st solar PV

Posted in Development, Energy Committee, Events, Green, Uncategorized, Water & Sewer

Solar PV – X3

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Solar PV – X3

solar PV-2

The town is jumping from having no solar PV arrays at all, to soon having two, and potentially three (if town meeting agrees on Monday).

  • Waste Water Treatment Plant – The 237KW  solar array at the Waste Water Treatment Plant is already constructed and scheduled to  start electricity generation following the ribbon cutting next Thursday at 10AM.
  • Public Safety Building – The new Public Safety Building was designed for a roof mounted solar array, but installing it was not part of the original bids due to concerns over adding to the costs.  That array was previously going forward as a 63KW roof mounted solar array, funded via a change order, spending some of the construction savings, until the state recently allowed the its incentives to run out, at which time that array was put on hold.  When the state legislation recently extended the state incentives, the economies of that array became attractive again, so that array has again been put on track to proceed as a change order to the original contract, spending some of the unexpended contingency monies to do that installation.
  • DPW Garage – The DPW Garage was designed solar ready, and the Energy Committee has been looking at doing a 150KW solar array there too, but that plan was also held in abeyance by the state allowing its incentives to expire, making the return on solar PV arrays less attractive.  There is $240,000 of appropriated monies left over from the solar array at the WWTP, the cost of which came in a lot under budget, and those monies are the  subject of  the ATM article 24 – to allow the transfer of those funds to be used for a solar PV array on the Garage.  However, the estimated cost of the Garage solar array is $383,000, so the project was about $150,000 short.  Mike Sullivan and Martha Festa, the Warrant Committee chair, yesterday crafted a solution, an amendment to the operating budget at the ATM, as the mechanism to obtain those monies at this late date, which can allow the Garage solar array to proceed.

The timing of the Public Safety Building and DPW Garage solar projects is important because the state incentives are going to change at  the end of 2017, making the economics of such solar arrays less advantageous – so because of the recent legislative changes, it became a do it now or not at all proposition.

 

 

Comments Off on Solar PV – X3

Posted in Budgets, Energy Committee, Financial, Green, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

Stretch code at ATM

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Stretch code at ATM

This from the Energy Committee about the town meeting article looking to adopt the stretch code, thereby become a Green Community, and thereby get the DOER $148,000 grant for doing so –

MEC

Vote YES  on Article #34

 

Help Medfield qualify for a $148,000 Energy Savings grant.

 

Massachusetts regularly updates the State Building Code to improve quality, safety and energy efficiency of construction in the Commonwealth.  The Building Code is the “stick” to encourage improvements in construction. By adopting the Stretch Energy Code, Medfield, like 161 other Massachusetts towns, would be an early adopter of what eventually will become the next State Building Code.  The “carrot” for Medfield to be an early adopter is a grant of $148,000 which will be used to improve Town building energy efficiency.

 

Massachusetts has been recognized as the nations leader in energy efficiency for the past five years.*  As Governor Baker said “Energy efficiency is the most cost effective, accessible way for Massachusetts to meet our clean energy goals and help ratepayers manage their energy costs. “

 

The Green Communities program, run by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), encourages towns in the state to cut their energy usage and to simplify siting of renewable energy.

Substantial dollar grants are given to towns that meet 5 Green Communities criteria:

#1 Provide siting for renewable energy

#2 Enable permitting within one year for renewable energy

#3 Develop a plan for reducing municipal energy use by 20% over 5 years

#4 Enact an energy efficient vehicle policy

#5 Minimize life-cycle cost for new construction

 

The Medfield Energy Committee has been working for 4 years to qualify Medfield as a Green Community and to earn a $148,000 grant with the potential of $250,000 annual grants thereafter.

Our progress:

  • Criteria #1 & #2 were met by the Solar Photovoltaic By-Law passed at the 2014 Town Meeting.
  • Criteria #4 was achieved when an Energy Efficient Vehicle Policy was adopted by the Select Board and School Committee in 2015.
  • Criteria #3, a plan for 20% reduction in Town energy usage, is being developed by the Town Energy Manager, Andrew Seaman.
  • Criteria #5, will be met by adopting the 9th edition of the Stretch Energy Code : Article #34

 

At the 2014 Town Meeting, a warrant article to adopt a Stretch Energy Code was voted down.

 

Now, in 2016, the situation has changed:

  1. The Massachusetts Building Code went into effect on July 1, 2014 with an updated Base Energy Code. The result is that today all new construction and renovation must meet a code that is basically the same Stretch Energy Code that was rejected at the April 2014 Town Meeting.
  2. The Stretch Energy Code does not include any new requirements for residential renovations or additions. The sole change from the Base Energy Code is the requirement for new residential construction to use a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index.  The HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured.
  3. For new commercial buildings, the Stretch Energy Code requires the construction to be 10% more efficient than the Base Energy Code.
  4. 161 Massachusetts towns have adopted the Stretch Energy Code

 

 

In summary:  Building Energy Codes are a “stick” to make sure building life-cycle costs improve.  DOER’s $148,000 grant is a “carrot” rewarding early adopters of Stretch Energy Code.

 

  • Vote yes on Article #34 to get the “carrot” with the “stick”
  • Vote no on Article #34 only get the “stick”

 

Article #34 supported by

  • Board of Selectmen
  • Warrant Committee
  • Energy Committee

 Permanent Building Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* American Council for Energy- Efficient Economy and the US Department of Energy.

 

Comments Off on Stretch code at ATM

Posted in Energy Committee, Green, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

Solarize Medfield

Posted on April 20, 2016 | Comments Off on Solarize Medfield

Selectmen signed an agreement Tuesday this week to officially launch Solarize Medfield – http://www.solarizemedfield.org/ – great website.  This from the website –

Solarize Medfield

Medfield meets Solar

The Town of Medfield has been selected to participate in the “Solarize Massachusetts” grant program, which is designed to promote solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on homes and small businesses in selected communities across the state. The Solarize Massachusetts grant program is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (Mass CEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Green Communities Division.

The Solarize Medfield team’s goal is to increase the adoption of solar energy systems through a grassroots educational campaign, driven mainly by Medfield volunteers, and partnered with an Installer to be selected, with a tiered pricing structure that increases the savings for everyone as more home and business owners in town sign up.

Mass CEC will provide us their technical and marketing expertise and guidance, to help bring us a wide variety of vender proposals. Our Request For Proposal (RFP) will be going out shortly so that vendors can begin bidding to be Medfield’s installer.

How the program works

Once a vendor is selected, each homeowner will contact the vendor for a free evaluation and quote to install solar on their property. The vendor will explain the details of the install and evaluate the homeowner’s property. Some properties may not be optimally situated for solar.

The vendor will then install the system, provide training, manage all the paperwork needed, and handle all owner issues directly. It is because the quality of service really matters that only top rated vendors will be considered.

Once your contract is signed, the system adds to the tiered pricing formula. If following tiers are reached after you sign, the vendor will refund the difference to you.

The Solarize Medfield program will have two Solar Coaches available to help you through the process. The Solarize Medfield team will also be hosting live information events as well as producing informational videos. This website will also be updated regularly to keep the information current.

Comments Off on Solarize Medfield

Posted in Energy Committee, Uncategorized