Energy Action Plan
On February 4, 2020, the City Council approved an application for the City to apply for the Partners in Energy (PiE) Program. Soon after, the City was accepted into the Program offered by Xcel Energy. Since being accepted into the PiE Program, the main focus of the group was to create an EAP with the overall goal of energy efficiency and conservation.
At the start of the process the Energy and Environment Committee, Xcel Energy and the Center for the Energy and Environment (CEE) worked to create a new Energy Action Team (EAT) to work on the EAP which represented many different stakeholders within Wayzata. All of the Team members volunteered their time help with the creation of the EAP. The EAT attended multiple workshops, completed surveys, attended focus group discussions, and reviewed materials which resulted in the creation of the EAP in coordination with Xcel Energy and CEE.
The EAT created an energy vision statement, "Wayzata is a forward-thinking community on the forefront of sustainability. We will lead by example to reduce our energy use through conservation and increase access to renewable energy sources for all residents, businesses, and institutions. Our community and its members will thrive and become more resilient through promoting values of energy stewardship and supporting everyone in our community in our work".
With this vision statement in mind, the EAT found four focus areas to incorporate in the EAP: municipal buildings, private buildings, multi-family buildings, and residential buildings. Each of these focus areas were then broken down into specific goals to guide implementation of the plan:
Municipal Building Strategies:
1. Track building energy use with B3 benchmarking
2. Make energy efficiency upgrades in City buildings
3. Support renewable energy in municipal buildings
4. Recognize and celebrate City successes
5. Explore municipal electric vehicle fleet and charging options
Private Building Strategies:
1. Create resources web page for building owners and developers on City website
2. Promote renewable energy opportunities and free assessments for businesses
3. Conduct outreach to faith organizations
4. Create a green business recognition program
5. Integrate energy efficiency and renewable energy into City development review processes
Multi-Family Strategies:
1. Conduct one-on-one outreach to building owners and managers
Residential Energy Strategies:
1. Update city website for residents to access energy information
2. Conduct an energy savings campaign
3. Conduct a renewable energy outreach campaign
4. Conduct outreach to under-resourced households
5. Host energy workshops
6. Host electric vehicle showcase events
7. Promote school energy curriculum opportunities
8. Expand electric vehicle access and education
More detail on each of these strategies is included in the EAP. These strategies will be incorporated into the future work plans for the E&E Committee. We will also rely on the expertise of Xcel Energy and CEE to implement a number of these strategies during the next 18 months while we are still in the PiE Program.
Through all of the work stated in the EAP, the overall goal stated is to increase energy savings 30% by the end of 2025, resulting in $293,000 combined savings for residential, multi-family, and public and private buildings. The overall goal also includes adding 5 new commercial and industrial as well as 100 renewable energy participants by the end of 2022. All involved with this process believes that this Plan is a great roadmap that will lead Wayzata towards a more sustainable future.