At the May 28 BOE meeting, the Board approved commencing contract negotiations with Jua Capital for a solar system. During these negotiations, some concerns were not resolved and more concerns were identified:

• A reduced savings over the life of the project (25 years) from $1.66M to $1.3M
• Albany Children’s Center is not included in the portfolio
• The inability to meet NEM2 standards at Albany High School which limits its energy-generating capacity below target levels
• An additional canopy panel required at Marin in order to meet NEM2 standards
• Marin School will not see savings over life of project
• Increased size of canopy at AMS which threatens established oak tree
• Initial contract review by legal counsel expressed multiple concerns, including:
  • Pricing and length of terms
  • Amount of energy the District is required to purchase
  • Termination rights
  • Terms for maintenance for solar equipment
  • Terms for repair and maintenance of District assets
  • Easement conditions
• Timeline risk of not completing in time to maintain NEM2 grandfathering
• Soft costs of approximately $300,000 for which the District is responsible
• School site disruption:
  • Construction during the school year
  • Construction noise and dust
  • Large areas of school sites closed to students
  • Weather constraints

With these concerns, the District does not suggest that we proceed with placing a solar energy system at this time.  We hope that there will be better options for AUSD in the near future. The District is already using 100% sustainably produced energy from AVA Community Energy, including both solar- and wind-generated energy. This energy is produced in areas that are better suited to large-scale energy production than our tight school sites. We remain committed to climate action and will continue working on the goals defined in the Environmental Action Plan.