Title
Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to support the MadiSUN program, accept $431,100 of grant money from the US Department of Energy, amend the Engineering Operating budget and authorizing the Engineering Division to hire a full-time hourly engineer to administer the grant, and to enter into contracts with Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, Foley and Lardner, Walker Energy Systems and Ted Petith for partner services.
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Preamble
In 2007, the City of Madison was awarded a $200,000 US Department of Energy grant and was named a Solar America City (one of 25 in the country). The two-year program is called MadiSUN. Over the last two years the city has:
1) Provided free solar assistance to residents and business in Madison
2) Updated our zoning code to meet state law and encourage solar installations.
3) Implemented a structural training course with the assistance of the US Department of Energy.
4) Developed a web-base solar assessment tool
5) Installed Solar Electric and Solar Thermal systems throughout the City.
In 2009, the City of Madison applied as was awarded a second round of funding from the US Department of Energy to expand the MadiSUN program. The overall goal to significantly increase the use of solar energy in Madison remains the same, however, the new grant from the US Department of Energy aims to:
1) Research and pilot several “Community Solar” projects and analyze which projects work best from an investor and legal perspective.
2) Promote solar technology to local businesses by providing financial models and targeting certain business sectors
3) Conduct a feasibility study to build a Solar Business Incubator Business Center
The US Department of Energy Grant award requires matching funds. The matching funds would come from the City of Madison ($249,000), Focus on Energy ($354,800), Madison Gas and Electric ($20,000), Ted Petith ($5,000), Rolf Buschmann ($3,000), J.H. Findorff ($5,000), and the Alexander Company ($2,000).
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