Energy Commission Minutes 6/11/19

MINUTES FOR STRATHAM ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING
Tuesday –June 11th, 2019
Meeting held at the Stratham Municipal Center

Committee Members:

• Michael Ream
• Matthew O’Keefe
• Michael Gorman
• Charlie Case
• Michael Welty
• David Moore

          7:02 PM Call to order

1. Approved Meeting minutes from May 14, 2019
2. Solar Update at Stratham Police Station update – David Moore is working with ReVsion energy to finalize mitigation plan on snow runoff risk related to the current installation. Ongoing, no further update.
3. Clean Energy NH (CENH) / Seacoast Energy Hub
   1. Enrollment application accepted, Stratham is an official municipal member of CENH
   2. Benefits include support, knowledge, best practice sharing, resources and advocacy with State House and and the PUC.
   3. Bill HB365 was vetoed.  It proposed to increase the net metering cap from 1MW to 5MW per project, focusing on municipal projects.  CENH rallying local energy groups to to reach out to local reps, asking SEC to contact House Rep Abrami, as they are seeking a 2/3^rd vote to overturn the veto.  Deadline for which is July 01, 2019.
4. Portfolio Manager
   1. SEC to coordinate with a to be identified town resource to enter the town’s energy data into the Portfolio Manager system.  Mike Welty and Matt O’Keefe to coordinate with David Moore.
   2. School data also in the system, entered originally as a benchmark, must decide if/how we will manage these non-town user demand data in the future.
5. Group Net Metering – company “Gather” presented an offer to Stratham
   1. Gather represents solar projects in NH that are in need of users to be qualified as Group Members for offsite solar energy projects in NH Group Net Metering program.
   2. SEC considering the value proposition.
   3. While SEC is most likely going to an aggregate 3^rd party (RPC, see item 6 below), we are still interested in renewable energy and how these programs might be best leveraged.  Next step:  Matt O’Keefe to SEC to speak w/ CENH for guidance on this type of opportunity.  
6. Rockingham Planning Commission -
   1. Stratham are RPC members.  RPC, among other things, are electricity brokerage who are aggregators.
   2. D Moore sent recent Stratham energy bills to RPC for evaluation, anticipating to hear back from RPC in August.  
   3. Upon receipt of RPC’s services offer, SEC’s will evaluate and recommend a course of action for the town.
7. New Business
   1. What options are there for towns to utilize conservation easements for the use of Solar Ground arrays, in a way which benefits the town and impacted stakeholders? 
   2. What are other commissions doing with adoption of solar in residential areas?
   3. Matt O’Keefe to consult with CENH before the next SEC meeting.
      
      Adjourned 8:05 PM

No Meeting in July

Next Meeting Tuesday Aug 13^th at 7 pm.

Respectfully submitted – Michael Gorman 6/11/19