Lincoln council selects SiteLogic as ESCO, authorizes master agreement selection; $11M project could yield $20M savings over 30 years

The Lincoln City Council voted April 9 to authorize the city manager to enter into an energy services master agreement with SiteLogic, clearing the way for staff and the firm to finalize project contracts and pursue financing options.

Public Works staff, identified in the hearing as the project lead, said the city evaluated multiple firms and selected SiteLogic under California Government Code section 4217 because the firm is on the approved list of energy service companies and has a record of comparable projects. Staff presented two proposed work orders (facility rooftop and parking-lot arrays and a ground-mounted array at the airport) and said the packet included an operations-and-maintenance agreement limited to a 10-year contracting period for those services.

Staff estimated the total initial investment for the two work orders at around $11,000,000, with contingencies and miscellaneous fees to be finalized in contract negotiations. Over a 30-year project life, staff projected approximately $20,000,000 in cumulative savings and identified an embedded Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credit of about $2,400,000 the city would pursue by filing a city tax return to claim the credit. Staff also reported they have engaged an environmental consultant to begin CEQA review for the larger solar site, with a full-package CEQA proposal estimated at roughly $25,000.

Council members questioned financing options, uncertain assumptions tied to future net energy metering rules (NEM 3), and whether there are contractual off-ramps if the project becomes impracticable. Staff replied there are practical exit points but that SiteLogic would have incurred preparatory design costs that the city might be responsible for if the council later withdrew from the project stage; staff said smaller site installations may qualify for CEQA exemptions while the large ground-mounted parcel would require formal environmental review. SiteLogic representatives (Jessica and Taylor) were present for questions.

Following public comment and discussion, the council moved and the motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote (Council member Joyner, Council member Andriana, Council member Brown, Council member Lauritzen, Mayor Carl Skint) to continue the public hearing from March 12 and adopt Resolution 2024-64 selecting SiteLogic as the ESCO partner. Council did not approve either work order or any construction contracts tonight; staff said they will return with final project contracts and funding-program specifics for separate approval and a separate public hearing on financing.