City sustainability staff outline no‑cost solar PPA option for dozens of municipal buildings

Dawn Oleski, the energy program manager in Richmond’s Office of Sustainability, told the Organizational Development Standing Committee that staff has identified a no‑cost solar power purchase agreement (PPA) that would place solar on city‑owned buildings using a cooperative procurement under the Prince William County Public Schools contract and Secure Solar Futures.

Oleski said the federal tax credits — which can cover up to roughly 50% of project costs, according to staff — add urgency to the work, and she projected the city could avoid more than $12,000,000 in utility costs over the 25‑year contract term if the pricing assumptions hold. “This is a no‑cost opportunity to get solar panels on city‑owned buildings so we can both mitigate the rising electric costs and get closer to our carbon reduction goals,” Oleski said.

Why it matters: staff described this as a way to lower municipal energy expenses that are passed to DPU ratepayers, advance city greenhouse‑gas goals and create training and job opportunities. The office said it ran more than 50 stakeholder interviews and preliminary feasibility studies; staff identified about 27 sites (roughly 30 properties counting several wastewater‑plant buildings), representing an initial 4 MW of capacity with opportunity to reach about 5 MW and add still more buildings if approved.

On price assumptions and modeling: Councilman Bridal pressed staff on the baseline modeling and whether PPA rates would be fixed for the 25‑year term. Oleski said each site has specific negotiated pricing under the cooperative contract and that the staff model included the recent Dominion rate increase and an assumed average 3% annual escalation of Dominion rates going forward.

On workforce and other efficiency measures: Councilwoman Aberbacher asked whether the city is also pursuing broader demand‑reduction measures; Oleski said staff is pursuing benchmarking, an energy‑savings performance contract and continuing CIP work with General Services and other departments. Oleski also told the committee that municipal investment funds supporting the project include workforce development work to bridge training gaps and that staff will partner with local training programs to connect trainees with employment opportunities.

Next steps: Oleski said staff will return to council with legislation for introduction and further detail; she also told members staff hopes to time approvals to capture the expiring tax incentives. The committee asked staff to provide additional briefings and to include the DPU director’s input before final action.

Ending: Councilmembers expressed overall support for pursuing the opportunity while asking for more detail on rate modeling and deployment scope; staff said it will bring legislation and explanatory materials back to the council for formal consideration.