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Solar Energy Policy at MARC
A Presentation for the Missouri Municipal League 9.21.2015 - Sheraton Crown Center - KCMO
MARC Rooftop Solar Challenge Solar Ready KC and Solar Ready II Solar Best Management Practice Implementation Solar Ready Community Recognition Program Solar Mapping Lessons Learned
Presentation Outline
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Non-profit association of city and county governments
The metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the bi-state Kansas City region
Serve 9 counties and 119 cities Population: 2.1 million Area: 4,423 square miles
Mid-America Regional Council (MARC)
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What is the Rooftop Solar Challenge?
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Part of U.S. DOE’s SunShot Initiative Goal: Develop best management practices for
reducing the non-hardware balance-of-system, or “soft costs” of solar photovoltaic systems
What is the Rooftop Solar Challenge?
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Rooftop Solar Challenge I awards were made in 2011 22 teams from across the country
Rooftop Solar I in KC: Solar Ready KC
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Started work in KC in 2012 Solar Ready KC Original Partners:
o Clay County, Mo. o Johnson County, Kan. o Kansas City, Mo. o Lee’s Summit, Mo. o Olathe, Kan. o Kansas City Power & Light
MARC selected in July 2013 for Rooftop Solar Challenge II (1 of 8 teams)
Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort
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MARC’s approach from Rooftop Solar I was expanded to a national scale
Nine other regional planning councils came on-board Team now called “Solar Ready II” Solar Ready II is currently working with 275
jurisdictions that cover a population of over 22 million
Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort
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Nine other regional planning councils are: o Syracuse (Central NY Reg. Planning and Development Board) o Philadelphia (Delaware Valley RPC) o Phoenix (Maricopa Association of Governments) o DC (Metro Washington Council of Government) o Dallas/Ft. Worth (North Central TX Council of Government) o Portage, IN (Northwest Indiana RPC) o Cincinnati (OH/KY/IN Regional Council of Government) o Ft. Meyers (Southwest Florida RPC) o Tampa (Tampa Bay RPC)
Rooftop Solar II: A National Effort
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Each RPC charged with recruiting 10-30 local
governments to adopt solar-friendly best practices
Coordination
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The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) is coordinating the nine regional campaigns
Meister Consultants Group (MCG) is helping with capacity building and training
MARC expanded the reach of Solar Ready KC by: o Working with additional local governments
o Went from working with 5 to 26 jurisdictions
o Launching new programs/projects
Solar Ready II in KC
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Add provisions to the zoning ordinance to clarify and regulate how solar is permitted
Provisions should address:
o Where solar is permitted o Rooftop v. ground-mounted installations o Allowable mounting: angled v. flush o Height limitations
Planning Improvement: Address Solar in the Zoning Ordinance
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Typical language in KC region: o Allowed in all zoning districts o Ground mounted v. roof mounted o Ground
o Setbacks o Yards allowed
o Roof o Allowed on principal and accessory structures o Limitations on angle from roof and/or height
Planning Improvement: Address Solar in the Zoning Ordinance
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What is solar-ready construction? o Building orientation to maximize solar
potential o Space to put conduit up to the roof o Roof pitch
Why encourage solar-ready construction? o Make it easier for residents to go solar o Saves thousands of dollars upfront
Planning Improvement: Develop Solar-Ready Guidelines
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Clarify up-front what the jurisdiction requires for submission along with the building permit form o Includes:
o Site plan o Electrical diagram o Structural worksheet
Saves city staff and solar installer time MARC → Working to get all partner jurisdictions
using the same checklist document
Process Improvement: Create a Permit Checklist
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Solar Ready Community Recognition
MARC program to recognize Solar Ready II jurisdictions for implementing: o Solar Best Management Practices (BMPs) o Other actions that promote solar
Levels of Recognition: o Bronze o Silver o Gold
Solar Ready Community Recognition
Communities recognized during first round:
o Gladstone, MO (Gold) o Raymore, MO (Gold) o Belton, MO (Silver) o Lee’s Summit, MO (Silver) o Liberty, MO (Silver)
Next deadline to apply: October 2015
All five jurisdictions addressed solar energy in their zoning ordinances
All five made solar-ready construction guidelines available on their websites
Belton, Lee’s Summit and Liberty also implemented solar permit checklists and linked to MARC’s solar mapping website
Gladstone and Raymore created solar landing pages Gladstone also recently put solar on a city facility Raymore also has fixed fees for residential solar
installations
Solar BMPs Implemented
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www.marc.org/solarguide FAQs How to get started Why go solar Cost of solar Incentives
Community Guide to Solar
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Jurisdiction Recruitment o Phone and email inquiries to staff contacts o One-on-one meetings with staff
BMP Implementation o Zoning BMP: Provide examples from local peer
jurisdictions o BMP with examples not enough—providing templates
allows jurisdictions to implement with ease o A carrot helps! Recognition program helped spur BMP
implementation
Lessons Learned
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Solar Energy Coordinator, Mid-America Regional Council [email protected] | 816-701-8244
Laura Machala