Memorandum
Date: April 15, 2025
To: The Honorable Eddie Crandell, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Lars Ewing, Public Services Director
Subject: 10:45 A.M. - PUBLIC HEARING - a) Consideration of Resolution Making Findings Necessary to Authorize an Energy Services Contract for Design, Installation, and Commissioning of Energy Conservation Facilities Serving Multiple County Facilities; and b) Consideration of Agreement with Enerlogics Networks, Inc. for Design, Installation, and Commissioning of Energy Conservation Facilities Serving Multiple County Facilities
Executive Summary
The County’s policy for the development of the Facilities Capital Improvement Plan (FCIP) prioritizes projects that contribute to increased sustainability and environmental quality and generate long-term cost savings through energy efficiency, such as the installation of solar panels at County-owned facilities. The Lake County Librarian, Christopher Veach, recently secured a California Library Facilities Improvement Grant to install solar panels, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the three County-owned library campuses in Lakeport, Middletown, and Redbud in Clearlake (among other facility improvements). The purpose of this item is to take actions necessary for project delivery; namely, to consider a resolution making findings that the project will result in energy cost savings greater than the overall cost of the project, and to consider a contract with Enerlogics Networks, Inc. to design, build, and commission the project.
Background
In September 2024 the County solicited a Request for Proposals (RFP) to design and construct solar panels, BESS, and EV charging stations at the three aforementioned facilities. The County’s selection committee ranked Enerlogics’ proposal as the most qualified response to the RFP. Additionally, the County’s independent energy consultant, Optony, analyzed Enerlogics’ design and financial proposal. Upon satisfactory completion of that analysis, staff negotiated with Enerlogics and prepared the draft agreement included with this item.
It is important to note that the scope of work requested through the RFP was for both design and construction. Historically, public infrastructure projects have been delivered through a design-bid-build process, where the public entity first contracts with a designer, and construction does not begin until the design process is complete and a separate bid for construction is accepted. The Public Contract Code is traditionally geared toward this project delivery method. However, in recognition of the benefits of alternative methods, in recent years provisions have been included in state code to allow for alternative options. One such allowance is Government Code Section 4217, which “provides the greatest possible flexibility to public agencies in structuring (alternate energy project) agreements”. This law authorizes a public entity to select an energy services contractor and enter into an energy services agreement on terms that are determined to be in the best interest of the public agency, if the cost of the project can be demonstrated to be less than the cost of electrical energy if the project is not completed and if that determination is made at a scheduled public hearing with notice of the hearing given at least two weeks in advance.
Optony provided the County with an analysis showing the financial benefits of the project, and notice for today’s hearing was posted on April 1, 2025. Consequently, staff prepared the attached resolution making findings necessary to authorize the energy services contract.
Project Summary
The proposed project includes a solar carport array at the Lakeport and Redbud libraries, and both a carport and rooftop array at Middletown. Presently all buildings are powered by PG&E, with typical combined annual energy consumption of approximately 185,000 kWh. The proposed 127 kW arrays (combined power rating) are expected to produce 178,000 kWh over the 25-year system life, resulting in an estimated combined load offset of 96%.
Carport parking lot arrays are recommended for two main reasons. First, covering roofs with solar panels makes future roof repairs and general roof access very challenging, in particular at Lakeport and Redbud libraries. Middletown is an exception because the roof is a standing-seam metal roof which allows for a non-intrusive clamp-style attachment of the solar panels. Additionally, carport arrays provide vehicle shade that offers an added, albeit non-quantifiable, benefit to employees and building visitors.
Optony’s aforementioned financial analysis assumes a 3% assumed annual PG&E rate escalation, a 0.5% annual panel degradation rate, the County’s future operations and maintenance costs, and the County’s receipt of a 30% federal investment tax credit. Their analysis anticipates that the proposed array will provide a payback period of approximately 10 years, resulting in an estimated total savings of $1.6 million over the 25-year system life.
As mentioned earlier, the project also includes a BESS and EV charging stations at each facility. Each BESS is designed to provide one-hour of full-facility use after loss of building power. The EV stations were included in the project with the vision that the County would soon add electric vehicles to its fleet. The charging stations will also be available for non-County EV’s on a pay-for-use basis (this potential revenue was not included in Optony’s financial analysis).
Staff recommends approval of the resolution and award of the agreement with Enerlogics.
If not budgeted, fill in the blanks below only:
Estimated Cost:________ Amount Budgeted: ________ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
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☒ Well-being of Residents ☐ Public Safety ☒ Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Recovery
☐ Economic Development ☒ Infrastructure ☐ County Workforce
☐ Community Collaboration ☐ Business Process Efficiency ☒ Clear Lake
Recommended Action:
a) Adopt Resolution Making Findings Necessary to Authorize an Energy Services Contract for Design, Installation, and Commissioning of Energy Conservation Facilities Serving Multiple County Facilities; and
b) Approve the Agreement with Enerlogics Networks, Inc. for Design, Installation, and Commissioning of Energy Conservation Facilities Serving Multiple County Facilities, and authorize the Chair to sign