1. Fort Collins Utilities Local Renewable Energy Story John Phelan P.E. Energy Services Manager

2. Fort Collins Utilities provides electricity, water, wastewater, stormwater and financing services Citizen-owned, electric utility established 1935, ~68,000 customers Highly educated, environmentally aware customers Fort Collins Utilities

3. Drivers for Renewable Energy • Climate and energy policies • City and utility leadership • Community support • Colorado standard requirements

5. Community Action • Local Activism Leading to: • 1998 Wind project and ongoing green power program • Net metering in 2005 and solar rebates in 2008 • Policy shift from RECs to bundled wind energy • 2013 Council funding authorization adding local solar feed-in tariff and community solar

9. Fort Collins Solar Programs • Solar rebates • Traditional $ per watt, residential and commercial allocations • Solar Power Purchase Program (SP3) • Feed-in tariff model • Community Solar (“garden”) • Meeting expanded customer interest

10. Next Generation Solar Initiatives • Low income – support for solar “Habitat home” approach • Utility scale PV partnerships • Addressing “soft costs” • On-premise equipment ownership (e.g. utility control inverters)

11. Fundamentals – Along the Way • Net metering • Policies, billing and business processes • Interconnection, inspection and check out • Buy-sell arrangements to align with contractual obligations • Purchased power agreements • Advanced metering • Rebates impact on marketplace

12. Fundamentals – Looking Ahead • National discussions • Utility business models • Reduced sales through efficiency and solar • “end of utilities as know it…” • Narrow focus on solar does not tell the whole story • Predictable outcomes and arguments regarding who pays and who benefits

13. Fundamentals – A Middle Path?

14. Fundamentals – A Middle Path? • Potential rate principles • DOE Sunshot • Revenue decoupling • “Bare minimum” fixed cost contributions • Time differentiated rates for all • Rocky Mountain Institute

15. Fundamentals – A Middle Path?

16. ThanksJohn Phelan jphelan@fcgov.com • Rocky Mountain Institute, eLab • www.rmi.org/elab • Department of Energy Sunshot • Search “doe sunshotrethinking”