Bill No.                8-14                          

Concerning: Buildings – County Buildings – Clean Energy Renewable Technology       

Revised:    3/31/2014        Draft No.   2  

Introduced:      January 28, 2014            

Enacted:         June 10, 2014                

Executive:       June 17, 2014                

Effective:        September 16, 2014       

Sunset Date:  None                             

Ch.   16    , Laws of Mont. Co.    2014    

 

County Council

For Montgomery County, Maryland

 

By: Councilmembers Berliner, Floreen, Riemer, Elrich, Andrews, and Navarro

 

AN ACT to:

(1)               [[require use of certain clean energy renewable technology in the construction or extensive modification of certain County buildings;

(2)               require the Director of the Department of General Services to conduct a clean renewable energy technology project feasibility assessment on certain County buildings]] establish a County Clean Energy Plan and clean energy portfolio target;

(2)        require the County Executive to issue regulations to define the Plan and target;

(3)        require the Director of the Department of General Services to report on the progress of the Clean Energy Plan; and

[[(2)]] (4) generally amend County law regarding building, energy, and environmental policy.

 

By adding

            Montgomery County Code

            Chapter 8, Buildings

Article VIII, Clean Renewable Energy Technology

Sections 8-54, 8-55, 8-56, 8-57[[, 8-58]]

 

 

Boldface                                             Heading or defined term.

Underlining                                          Added to existing law by original bill.

[Single boldface brackets]                  Deleted from existing law by original bill.

Double underlining                              Added by amendment.

[[Double boldface brackets]]              Deleted from existing law or the bill by amendment.

*   *   *                                                  Existing law unaffected by bill.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The County Council for Montgomery County, Maryland approves the following Act:


 


            Sec. 1.  Article VIII (Sections 8-54, 8-55, 8-56, 8-57[[, 8-58]]) is added to Chapter 8 as follows:

Article VIII. Clean Renewable Energy Technology.

8-54. Definitions.

          In this Article, the following words have the meanings indicated:

Clean energy portfolio target means a target, expressed in megawatt hour equivalents, for establishing an amount of clean energy to be installed on the County’s portfolio of facilities.  The County’s portfolio includes any building, facility, or property in which the County has a financial interest.  A financial interest includes any ownership, lease, or public private partnership, and any facility where the County provides 30% of total funding.

Clean renewable energy technology means a technology or system that uses geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water heating, wind power, solar electricity generation, or solar thermal generation.  Clean renewable energy technology includes passive solar energy generation that reduces energy use from other sources by at least 20%.

[[Cost effective means where the cost of installing clean renewable energy technology on a covered County building is not projected to exceed the projected cost savings of the installation within the first 15 years after the installation of the technology begins.]]

[[County building means any building for which the County government finances at least 30% of the cost of:

          (1)     construction, for a newly constructed building; or

          (2)     modification, for a building that is extensively modified.]]

[[Covered County building means a newly constructed or extensively modified County building.]]

Department means the Department of General Services.

Director means the Director of the Department or the Director’s designee.

[[Extensively modify or modified refers to any structural modification which alters more than 50% of a building’s gross floor area, as shown on an application for a building permit.]]

[[Projected total cost means the estimated cost required to construct or renovate a building, including any building system, interior finish, site infrastructure, connection to any existing utility, landscaping, and sidewalk and parking lot built for the immediate use of occupants of the building.]]

8-55. Clean energy renewable technology required.

[[(a)   Any contract to build or extensively modify a County building must require the use of clean renewable energy technology.  Except as provided in subsection [[(b)]] (c), a covered County building must have installed at least 1 kilowatt of clean renewable energy technology for every 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.  This requirement may be met by using ground mounted clean renewable energy technology on or directly adjacent to the building lot.

(b)     Each appropriation to build or extensively modify a County building must include an additional amount of 2% to the projected total cost funded by the County, as shown in the project description form, subject to subsection (c).

(c)      The Director must limit the size of the clean renewable energy technology installation if the initial cost of the installation is projected to exceed 2% of the projected total cost of the new building or renovation.  However, if the Director transfers expenditures to the project under subsection [[(a)]] (b), the initial cost of the installation must not exceed 4% of the projected total cost.]]

(a)     By [6 months after date of enactment], the County Executive must establish, by Method 1 Regulation, a Clean Energy Plan that includes a specific amount of on-site clean energy that must be installed on any new or existing County facility.  This Plan must include:

(1)     a clean energy portfolio target for total clean energy to be installed on County facilities, which must exceed 1 kilowatt per 1,000 square feet of facilities anticipated to be added to the County’s portfolio as documented in the Capital Improvement Program;

(2)     a process for vetting any new facility for potential renewable energy installation during the design phase, including key criteria for evaluating opportunities for solar energy;

(3)     a plan to ensure that appropriate facilities are solar ready, to the extent possible;

(4)     criteria for responsible site selection to balance the County’s renewable energy goals with other environmental objectives;

(5)     a process to coordinate with County agencies on any new facility built using at least 30% county funds; and

(6)     required funding and staffing to achieve the target.

(b)     The County may install a clean energy system in an alternate location in the County to meet this requirement, including:

(1)     a vacant property;

(2)     a land swap or lease agreement; or

(3)     any other property or facility where the County has a contractual, budgetary, or other interest.

(c)      The Executive must recommend to the Council whether funds to support solar energy should be incorporated in a energy specific capital improvement budget, utility Non Departmental Account, or other mechanism to overcome any funding gap to meet the renewable energy target.

[[8-56. Project feasibility assessment.

(a)              The Director must perform a feasibility assessment to find whether a covered County building can be retrofitted cost effectively to include clean renewable energy technology.  The Director may consider other factors, including:

(1)     the cost to the County;

(2)     any safety or security issue;

(3)     any cost savings from the installation;

(4)     any clean energy job creation;

(5)     the clean renewable energy technology capacity of the building;

(6)     environmental benefits;

(7)     the technological feasibility of a retrofit; and

(8)     applicable zoning requirements.

(b)             If the Director finds that installing clean renewable energy technology on a covered County building would not be cost effective, the Director must transfer expenditures from the covered County building project equivalent to 2% of the projected total cost for use in another applicable project, unless no applicable project is approved in the Capital Improvement Program.  The County Council must approve any fund transfer between projects under this Section by resolution.]]

8-[[57]] 56. Alternative financing.

(a)              An alternative financing arrangement which allows leveraging of federal, state, utility, and other incentives, including any grant, lease-purchase agreement, power purchase agreement, or energy savings performance contract, may meet the clean renewable energy technology requirement under this Article.

(b)             The purchase of Renewable Energy Credits does not meet the clean renewable energy technology requirement under this Article.

8-[[58]] 57. Administration; reporting.

(a)     The Department must administer this Article using accepted principles of sound accounting and fiscal management.

[[(a)]] (b) The Department must submit an annual report to the County Council and County Executive by April 1 each year describing:

(1)             the added clean renewable energy technology generation by each project;

(2)             the revenues and expenditures of each project;

(3)             each project supported by the Program; and

(4)             [[the annual savings to the County’s utility costs from each supported project]] the cost and energy savings resulting from the program.

          [[Sec. 2. Effective date. Article VIII, inserted by Section 1 of this Act, applies to each new or major renovation public building project for which an application for a building permit is filed on or after January 1, 2014.]]


Approved: