GVEA Board Meeting, April 27, 2021

by Jim Schwarber

Board Chairman Suggests Revisiting GVEA’s Carbon Reduction Goal

The full board of the Golden Valley Electric Association met virtually on April 27th via Microsoft Teams. The public session began at 6:30 PM with 28 people attending.

During Chairman Tom DeLong’s opening comments, he said a lot has changed in the world since 2019 when GVEA adopted their goal of a 26 percent reduction in carbon by 2030. Large corporations and other entities are adopting much more aggressive carbon reduction goals, including automakers pledging to transition to building only electric vehicles. Following the staff’s Carbon Reduction presentation, Chairman Delong said the Board may “re-look at the 26% carbon reduction goal” and the approaches for meeting it.

Naomi Knight, GVEA’s Director of Engineering, gave an update on GVEA’s goal to reduce CO2-equivalent emissions by 26 percent by 2030. She heads up an internal staff team whose purpose is to coordinate efforts and measure progress to reach that goal, and report to the Board every six months. They appear to be early in the process of identifying resources and quantifying historical and current CO2 emissions. The August 24, 2020 Member Book includes the lengthy 55 page “GVEA Carbon Reduction Study” by ACEP, the Alaska Center for Energy & Power. No metrics were provided regarding progress to achieve the goal. The carbon reduction team will be seeking more feedback from the Board, and it is possible the 2030 deadline may slip, especially if the goal may be in sight by then. Some interim items include the intent to install two Electric Vehicle (EV) Fast Chargers on the GVEA main campus in Fairbanks by the end of summer 2021, and study demand-side management for a possible filing for “time of use” rates. They are also considering adopting an internal price for carbon of $30 per ton for planning purposes.

Director Gary Newman asked when GVEA’s Request for Information (RFI) for pre-proposals for renewable projects up to 30 MW (megawatt) in size closes. Last day to respond to the RFI is April 30. Director Chris Bunch asked if there could be a carbon offset gain from a large mine switching from fuel oil to electricity from GVEA? Director Rick Solie said he is worried electric rates may increase as the result of pursuing to 26 per cent carbon reduction goal. Chairman Delong mentioned the American Petroleum Institute has just come out in favor of a carbon tax in the $30-$40 per ton range [see: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-25/u-s-oil-lobby-backs-carbon-fee-as-substitute-for-regulation ]. And Finland charges $140/ton carbon tax; Canada and some states tax carbon, too. Chairman DeLong closed by saying beneficial electrification is likely to increase demand, so “where will this new power come from?”

Next was a quarterly safety report on GVEA’s top priority was provided by Dean Ojala. He reported zero “lost time” injuries took place during the first quarter of 2021.

Comments from member-owners

Two member-owners provided oral comments to the Board. Jim Schwarber thanked GVEA and the Board for all their efforts in support of transitioning towards greater use of renewable energy by both GVEA and its members. He especially liked the recent information and education session on Air Source Heat Pumps in Alaska that GVEA co-sponsored with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center. He pointed out that we are in a climate emergency and urged GVEA to continue and expand their efforts to transition to clean energy as soon as possible. Another member-owner, Kirk Martakis of Cantwell thanked GVEA for the Heat Pump presentation, for their support of SNAP Plus, for their renewable RFI, and for their grant to ReCharge Alaska for electric vehicles.

On-bill financing update from Member Advisory Committee

The Member Advisory Committee Report was delivered by MAC member Ben Loeffler. Regarding an update on the On-Bill Financing Pilot Program, the MAC OBF Task Force is preparing a list of questions to ask the EESI folks at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. No clear timeline yet on when the OBF pilot program will be done.

Recruitment for new MAC members takes place each year from May until July 30. (See: https://www.gvea.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/21-05-MAC-Solicitation-Fillable.pdf )

The remainder of the meeting included typical business reports. In closing director comments Dave Messier reminded the board that “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” There may be substantial infrastructure opportunities coming.

The Member Book for this meeting located at: https://www.gvea.com/meetings-minutes/.