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Elk River ,. <br /> Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Tom Sagstetter—Conservation and Key Accounts <br /> John Dietz—Chair Manager <br /> Al Nadeau—Vice Chair <br /> Daryl Thompson—Trustee <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> June 14th,2016 4.1 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> Landfill Gas Plant Engine Repair and Operational Cost Update <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> As part of the ongoing evaluation of the Elk River Landfill Gas generating facility ERMU met <br /> with Waste Management and Sherburne County representatives on May 23rd to discuss current <br /> and future operations of the facility. ERMU staff completed a detailed analysis of all costs and <br /> revenues for the facility since it became operational in October, 2002 through the end of the <br /> contracts in September 2022. <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> Although the recent operational cost trends have been concerning, the key finding of the detailed <br /> analysis is that the Landfill Gas Plant has not been a burden to the customers of ERMU, nor will <br /> it be in the future based on the forecasted costs and revenue used for the meeting on May 23rd <br /> Currently the LFGP is projected to provide revenue that exceeds expenses over the life of the <br /> contracts that end in 2022. <br /> All partners (Sherburne County, Waste Management, and ERMU)agreed that the future <br /> operation and ownership of the landfill gas facility needs to be evaluated with final changes <br /> implemented in 2017 on operations,maintenance, and ownership. <br /> Other key areas that were discussed in the meeting were as follows. <br /> 1. The value of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)—Currently GRE has all rights to <br /> the RECs since they are purchasing all the energy output. In the Minnesota voluntary <br /> market for RECs,the value is minimal. The RECs from the landfill gas plant would <br /> at the most be worth $12,500 per year. In some markets RECs are of greater value <br /> and they may be of greater value in the future, but currently there is not much value in <br /> Minnesota. <br /> 2. The Elk River Landfill has agreed to not invoice ERMU for the landfill gas to power <br /> the plant for the remainder of 2016. <br /> 3. Sherburne County representatives are going to internally discuss various options. <br /> Page 1 of 2 ( DIVINED SY <br /> NATURE <br /> Reliable Public <br /> Power Provider POWERED 7 0 S ERV E <br /> 74 <br />