Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator
Managing Department: County Engineer
Managing Department Head/Elected Official: Milton Rahman
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Investment Memo
Investment Memo Type: Final Investment Memo
Project Name: Energy Infrastructure Pilot, Installation of Distributed Energy Resources at Community Centers and Libraries in Harris County
Project ID (if applicable): SOLARSTORAGE
Vendor Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): 15%
MWBE Current Achievement (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal is not 0% and is listed above
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Incremental Authorization Requested: $9,938,530
Total Estimated Project Cost: $10,138,530
Request Summary:
title
Request for approval of a Final Investment Memo for the Energy Infrastructure Pilot, installing Distributed Energy Resources (DERS) at Community Centers and Libraries in Harris County for an additional authorization of $9,938,530 for a total authorization of $10,138,530 and commercial paper funding for an additional $3,500,000 for a total allocation of $3,700,000.
end
Project Description:
In October of 2022, the Commissioner’s Court approved a preliminary investment memo for Harris County’s Distributed Energy Resources (DERS) pilot. This project has been designed to invest in select libraries and community centers with distributed energy technology such as solar panels and battery storage, to make these locations more resilient to extreme weather and events impacting the power grid. The goal was to understand how to achieve a level of scale to install this technology in County facilities. The package for each site includes solar panels, battery storage, and level 2 dual-port electric vehicle charging stations. In addition to increasing resiliency, this project will allow the County to be less reliant on the electricity grid, reduce energy usage, and increase load flexibility.
The 16 sites identified for this project will be implemented in two phases. The first eight locations will be completed over the 12 months beginning January 2025 with all eight to be completed by Q1 of 2026. The final eight sites will be subject to additional evaluation and design over the course of 2025.
Anticipated Project Expenditures and Timeline:
|
Project Scope Breakdown |
Estimated Cost |
Estimated Completion |
|
PHASE I - FINAL DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION |
|
|
|
Lincoln Park Community Center |
$376,659.34 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Finnigan Community Center |
$672,321.96 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Bay Area Community Center |
$414,161.08 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Almendarez Community Center |
$608,879.90 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Trini Mendenhall Community Center |
$583,136.74 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
George Bush Community Center |
$542,206.96 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Steve Radack Community Center |
$912,485.10 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
Bayland Community Center |
$471,683.04 |
Q1 CY2026 |
|
PHASE II |
|
|
|
Adair Community Center |
$346,077.28 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Health Care Annex Cavalcade Community Center |
$214,407.26 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Challenger Seven Center/Park |
$708,550.64 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Aldine Branch Library |
$694,556.52 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library |
$364,002.94 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Barrett Station Community Center |
$986,979.78 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Weekley Community Center |
$527,760.22 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
[Katy Branch Library] |
$611,158.37 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Contingency (10%) |
$903,502.71 |
Q1 CY2027 |
|
Total |
$9,938,529.84 |
Q1 CY2027 |
Justification & Alternatives:
The preliminary investment memo projected three sites per-precinct and significantly smaller solar and battery arrays. Through further investigation of sites identified by precinct staff, larger systems were needed to cover the building’s energy usage and all of the sites that were investigated were good candidates for the project. The project originally conceived of 100 kW solar systems on every site, with the final bids averaging 321 kW systems per site.
The increase in equipment per site, as well as outfitting 16 sites instead of 12, caused an increase in the projected cost of the project. Overall, ~2/3 of the cost increase is attributable to the increase in project site, with ~1/4 attributable to cost increases in equipment and labor beyond the 2022 projections.
Despite the cost increases, these investments provide a positive financial benefit to the County. A benefits-cost analysis was performed for the PIM with projected costs as well as with the final costs. While the cost increases represented a decrease in the IRR, the current project provides a strong return on investment. We currently project a 9.5% IRR to the County with a simple payback of nine years. These returns come from the solar-generated, the value of energy storage, as well as some resilience benefits of each site.
In addition, there are a number of additional financial benefits not considered in our analysis. The benefit-cost analysis below does not consider the sale of Renewable Energy Credits, contribution to a County demand response program, or any financial value to the avoided cost of carbon.
Anticipated Impact on Other Funds (If Applicable):
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Fund Code |
Description |
Estimated Cost |
Funding Method (Existing or Future Budget Request Required) |
Estimated Date of Needs |
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$- |
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- |
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$- |
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Total |
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- |
County Strategic Plan Goal: 5. Minimize the impact of climate change and disasters.
County Strategic Plan Objective: R: Enhance disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resiliency.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): R1: Embed resiliency hubs within vulnerable communities to increase access to emergency resources.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Previous Court Action:
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
2/8/2022 |
270 |
Transmittal by OCA of Tradition Energy’s Clean Energy Strategy report |
|
10/25/2022 |
17 |
Request for approval of a Preliminary Investment Memo for the Energy Infrastructure Pilot program for an initial authorization of $200,000. |
|
9/19/2024 |
321 |
Approval of an award to METCO ENGINEERING, INC. for installation of distributed energy resources at Precinct 2 & 3 community centers and libraries. |
Address:
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$3,500,000 |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$3,500,000 |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Request |
$ |
$3,500,000 |
$ |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 1/9/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Legal funding compliance confirmed by:
Department Approval by: Jesse Dickerman, Managing Director, OCA,12/23/2024
OMB CIP Team Approval by:
Commercial Paper Request (For OMB use only):
Receiving Department: County Engineer
Project PeopleSoft ID: SOLARSTORAGE
CP Series Description: Commercial Paper Series D can be used for (1) construction of public works, (2) the purchase of automobiles, equipment and machinery, including computers, materials and supplies for the operation of the County’s precincts and departments (3) Professional services, including services provided by engineers, architects, attorneys, auditors, financial advisors, and fiscal agents, in connection with the contractual obligations described in (1) and (2).
Commercial Paper is being requested for the Energy Infrastructure Pilot project and is expected to be repaid within the next three fiscal years either through bonds, budgetary means or pay-as-you-go sources.
OMB Financial Management contact: Amy Perez, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget