Item 4
1 VALLEY CLEAN ENERGY ALLIANCE
Staff Report – Item 4
TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Alisa Lembke, Board Clerk / Administrative Analyst SUBJECT: Approval of Minutes from April 14, 2022 meeting DATE: May 12, 2022
RECOMMENDATION
Receive, review and approve the attached April 14, 2022 meeting Minutes.
VCEA Minutes April 14, 2022 Board Meeting via Webinar Page 1 of 4
MINUTES OF THE VALLEY CLEAN ENERGY ALLIANCE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
The Board of Directors of the Valley Clean Energy Alliance duly noticed their regular meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 5:00 p.m., to be held via Zoom webinar. Chair Jesse Loren established that there was a quorum present and began the meeting at 5:02 p.m.
Board Members Present: Jesse Loren, Tom Stallard, Dan Carson, Wade Cowan, Lucas Frerichs, Don Saylor, Mayra Vega (arrived at 5:20 p.m.)
Members Absent: Gary Sandy
Welcome Chair Loren welcomed everyone.
Public Comment –
General and
Consent
Board Clerk informed those present that there were no verbal or written public comments on general topics or on any of the Consent Agenda items.
Approval of
Consent Agenda /
Resolution 2022-
011 through
Resolution 2022-
012
Chair Loren announced that the Board Clerk has noted that a few grammatical corrections have been made to the March 10, 2022 meeting Minutes. Motion made by Vice Chair Tom Stallard to approve the Consent Agenda with grammatical corrections made to the March 10, 2022 meeting Minutes, seconded by Director Dan Carson. Motion passed with Directors Gary Sandy and Mayra Vega absent. The following items were:
3. Authorized to continue remote public meetings as authorized by Assembly Bill 361;
4. Approved March 10, 2022 Board meeting Minutes as amended;
5. Received 2022 Long Range Calendar;
6. Received February 28, 2022 (unaudited) financial statement;
7. Received Legislative update provided by Pacific Policy Group;
8. Received April 6, 2022 Regulatory update provided by Keyes & Fox;
9. Received quarterly Customer Enrollment update;
10. Received Community Advisory Committee March 24, 2022 meeting summary;
11. Approved agreement with TeMix Inc. to provide implementation support services for the AgFIT (Flexible Irrigation Technology) dynamic pricing pilot program as Resolution 2022-011;
12. Received SACOG Grant – Electrify Yolo Project update;
13. Approved updates to Valley Clean Energy’s Employee Handbook as Resolution 2022-012; and,
14. Approved process for selection of CAC At-Large seats.
VCEA Minutes April 14, 2022 Board Meeting via Webinar Page 2 of 4 Item 15: Received
presentation on
OhmConnect
program.
Leah Goodman, Partnerships & Business Development Manager of OhmConnect, provided a presentation summarizing the VCE-OhmConnect program. The OhmConnect program is free and subsidizes smart home devices to improve energy efficiency. This program will be launched next week, with a secondary campaign in May.
Director Mayra Vega arrived at 5:20 p.m.
The Board asked questions and Ms. Goodman stated that the program is designed for residential customers, not businesses and the success rate of the 2021 program campaign was that 40% had installed a smart device, out of the approximately 300 who responded. There were no verbal or written public comments.
Item 16: Approve
participation in and
authorize VCE
Executive Officer to
execute documents
associated with
VCE participating in
the CC Power long
duration storage
project. Resolution
2022-013
VCE Staff Gordon Samuel summarized the California Community Power (CC Power) Goal Line project by reviewing slides. Mr. Samuels informed the Board that this project is the second CC Power long duration storage project being presented to the Board, which is designed to meet procurement goals, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) reliability procurement order requirements, and VCE’s renewable energy goals. VCE’s Strategic Plan and carbon neutral study work outlines VCE’s goal to exceed California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) while working toward a resource portfolio that is 100% carbon neutral by 2030. This project follows the carbon neutral study and exceeds the CPUC’s requirements. Mr. Samuel informed the Board that the proposed CC Power Goal Line project was presented to the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) at their March 24, 2022 meeting and the CAC recommended that VCE participate in this long duration storage project. There were no verbal or written public comments.
Motion made by Director Lucas Frerichs to:
1) Authorize via Resolution the Executive Officer to execute on behalf of Valley Clean Energy as a member of CC Power the following agreements and any necessary ancillary documents for the Goal Line long duration storage project with a delivery term of 15 years starting at the commercial operation date on or about June 1, 2025:
a. Project Participation Share Agreement between Valley Clean Energy, California Community Power and other participating CCAs.
b. Energy Storage Service Agreement (ESSA) - Buyer Liability Pass Through Agreement (BLPTA) between Valley Clean Energy,
California Community Power and Goal Line BESS 1, LLC.
VCEA Minutes April 14, 2022 Board Meeting via Webinar Page 3 of 4 Motion seconded by Director Vega. Motion passed as Resolution 2022-013 by the following vote:
AYES: Loren, Stallard, Saylor, Carson, Cowan, Frerichs, Vega NOES: None
ABSENT: Sandy
ABSTAIN: None
Item 17: Receive
and accept audited
financial
statements for the
period of July 1,
2021 to December
31, 2021 presented
by James Marta &
Company.
Mr. James Marta of James Marta & Company, presented highlights of their audit of VCE’s financials covering the time period of July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. A brief discussion occurred. There were no verbal or written public comments.
Motion made by Director Carson to:
1. Accept and approve the Audited Financial Statements for the period of July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021;
2. Accept the Communication with Governance Letter; and
3. Accept the Internal Control Letter
Motion seconded by Director Don Saylor. Motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Loren, Stallard, Saylor, Carson, Cowan, Frerichs, Vega NOES: None
ABSENT: Sandy
ABSTAIN: None
Item 18: Board
Member and Staff
Announcements
There were no comments or announcements from the Board.
Executive Officer Mitch Sears informed those present that Staff continue to work on the AgFIT program with a May 1st target state date. Conversations with the CPUC, vendors and farmers continue with a few farmers enrolled in the program.
Staff are doing an analysis of the effects of the drought on energy within the agriculture sector and their challenges. Mr. Sears informed those present that VCE was featured in Yolo County Climate Action Committee’s comments to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on jurisdictions opting up non-solar accounts to VCE’s UltraGreen and to work together to engage communities in other energy efficiency programs.
He announced that the Time of Use (TOU) transition for residential customers continues to be underway. VCE’s Customer Service Team (CST) has not seen an increase in phone calls regarding the TOU transition. The CST have the tools they need to answer questions and assist customers.
Mr. Sears informed those present that the Department of Commerce received an anti-dumping circumvention case related to solar panels. Staff are continuing to monitor to see if there are any impacts to our projects.
VCEA Minutes April 14, 2022 Board Meeting via Webinar Page 4 of 4 He announced that VCE now has an Instagram account in addition to our other social media outlets. There are two (2) events coming up that VCE will be participating in: California Honey Festival in Woodland on Saturday, May 7th and Celebrate Davis in early June. He invited Board and CAC Members to come out to these events.
Director Saylor mentioned that Yolo Climate Compact is meeting on Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m. The featured program is on drought issues and how the Yolo Flood Control Irrigation District and the City of Woodland have taken steps to address the drought. Woodland’s groundwater recharge program will be featured and a discussion on how these issues are being managed. Chair Loren informed those present that the Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency has a subcommittee that is addressing drought. Attending some of these meetings by Staff might be informative and useful.
Chair Loren announced that the Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 5 p.m.
Adjournment Chair Loren adjourned the regular Board meeting at 5:59 p.m.
Alisa M. Lembke
VCEA Board Secretary