Duluth Energy Commission Presentation to City Council on Decarbonization Recommendation, February 3, 2025
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Duluth Energy Commission Presentation to City Council on Decarbonization Recommendation, February 3, 2025
The Duluth Energy Plan Commission (EPC) presented a recommendation to the Duluth City Council on February 3, 2025, urging the city to take immediate steps to transition Comfort Systems (the city's natural gas utility) toward zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The presentation, led by EPC Chair Gary Olson and attended by Commissioner Scott Wishert Bouchard, included data on current emissions trends and proposed solutions such as thermal energy networks. The council discussed costs, feasibility, and potential funding sources, with input from Sustainability Officer Mindy Granley.
Presentation by Duluth Energy Plan Commission
- Gary Olson presented the EPC's recommendation, which comprises two parts: (1) create a position or task force to develop a plan for Comfort Systems to meet the city's goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and (2) provide secure funding to support energy transition planning for Comfort Systems.
- Olson highlighted that the city achieved a 63% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a 2008 baseline by 2023, largely due to progress in the electricity sector. However, the natural gas sector's share of community-wide emissions increased from 28% (2013) to 41% (2020), driven by thermal energy needs.
- The presentation emphasized that burning fossil fuels for heating and cooling is the primary challenge. Olson described thermal energy networks (geothermal networks) as a promising solution that can provide both heating and cooling efficiently, using a constant 55°F ground temperature. He cited examples from other communities, including Framingham, Massachusetts (Eversource pilot), and Minnesota initiatives under the Natural Gas Innovation Act.
- Olson noted that the city may face "stranded asset" risks if new natural gas infrastructure is built without a transition plan.
Council Questions and Discussion
- Councillor Derwachter asked about cost estimates for conversion. Olson replied that he did not have specific figures but noted that other cities have used various funding models. Mindy Granley added that a project to capture waste heat from WLSSD to heat downtown buildings would cost approximately $55 million for a full build-out, and converting downtown steam to hot water was estimated at $30 million. She noted that a 30% design exists and that the city applied for but did not receive federal Department of Energy funding.
- President Tomonic asked whether the recommendation applies to all customers or only city buildings. Olson clarified it covers all Comfort Systems customers, including residences. Tomonic also asked about per-household costs and grant programs; Olson stated he had no such data.
- Councillor Randorf inquired about Mindy Granley's current role and capacity. Granley explained she has only interns and no full-time staff, contrasting with Ann Arbor, which funds a sustainability office with 18 staff via a 20-year, $6.8 million annual mill levy. She noted that the EPC recommendation aligns with her office's work but requires additional resources.
- Councillor Forceman asked about smaller-scale alternatives after the failure to secure federal funding. Granley suggested that using waste heat for a smaller area (e.g., Lincoln Park) could reduce costs by about $20 million. She also mentioned that watching the Framingham pilot might help the city avoid being an early adopter.
- Councillor Derwachter asked if a volunteer task force could advance the work, similar to the Vibrant Streets group. Olson preferred a paid position within Comfort Systems or the city to lead the transition. Granley noted limitations in Comfort Systems' budget, which is restricted by code to natural gas operations.
- Councillor Kennedy asked about collaboration with Public Works (Jim Benning) and discussed the possibility of a task force with skills in grant-writing and lobbying. Granley confirmed close collaboration and mentioned an upcoming Energy Futures grant (anticipated contract any day) with up to $110,000 in consulting funds.
- Chair Mayo asked whether the city could meet the 2050 goal without addressing natural gas. Olson replied that continued burning of fossil fuels would prevent achieving the target, even with carbon offsets. Mayor Mayo expressed concern about stranded assets and urged starting with new developments.
- Councillor Derwachter suggested forming a brief volunteer task force to consult with communities like Vermont, Athens (Ohio), and Boulder on their costs and savings. Olson supported the idea.
Key Outcomes
- The EPC's formal recommendation was presented and discussed; no immediate vote was taken.
- The City Council directed questions and suggestions for next steps, including exploring a volunteer task force to gather data from other municipalities and considering a dedicated position within the sustainability office or Comfort Systems.
- Sustainability Officer Mindy Granley will continue pursuing grant opportunities (e.g., the Energy Futures grant) and collaborating with Public Works on decarbonization efforts.
- The council acknowledged the need for additional funding and staff capacity to achieve the 2050 emissions goal.
Meeting Transcript
All right, welcome everyone. So we are here at 515 now for the Duluth Energy Commission presentation. I'm going to welcome Mr. Gary Olson up to the podium here who will guide us through our presentation, and I believe questions are at the end. Is that correct, Mr. Olson? Yes, please. All right. Thank you. Go ahead. Well, thank you, President Tamonic, wherever you are. Is she? She's not sitting in the right spot. And counselors, I'd like to thank you for this opportunity, opportunity for the Duluth Energy Plan Commission, the EPC to speak to you tonight about the recommendation that we made to the city last year. I'm Gary Olson. I'm the chair of the commission. Our commission was formed in 2019 by city ordinance and was chartered to have seven members. We have Scott Wishert. Bouchard. Here is the commissioner, and I don't see any other commissioners here. And he will be able to answer questions too if you have questions at the end. We are especially grateful for the knowledge, advice, and leadership of our city city sustainability officer, Mindy Granley, who, by the way, was one of our original commissioners. I have a short presentation about the recommendation, the reasons for the recommendation, and the solutions that we are urging the city to pursue. The city's charge given to the EPC was to advise the administration and city council on ways to achieve the goal of reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Next one. In addition to this original goal, Mayor Emily Larson in 2022 updated that to 100% reduction. And the state of Minnesota has in recent legislation established the goal of 100% reduction of greenhouse gases by the year 2050. Just to remind us, the major causes of greenhouse gas emissions is the burning of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas or methane. This burning produces 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. And greenhouse gas has trap the sun's heat, causing climate change. I want to include this slide and this photo of the Duluth Energy Plant to point out that changing from burning coal to burning natural gas or methane, which this plant has done, is a significant improvement in reducing greenhouse gases. However, we are still using the burning of natural gas throughout our community for the majority of our thermal energy needs. And this will still produce greenhouse gases. So let's look at where we are now and how things are trending. For the corporate city, we have made significant progress on our goal, being at 63% greenhouse gas reduction from in 2023 from a 2008 baseline. And this we should be grateful for. The orange line is the electric electricity sector, the blue line is the natural gas sector, the gray line is the transportation sector, and the yellow line at the bottom is the waste sector. As you can see, the orange line, the electrical sector, has gone from about 50% greenhouse gases community wide in 2013 to about 31% in 2020. The blue line, the natural gas sector has gone from about 28% greenhouse gas gases community wide to about 41% in 2020. This is the trend we're most concerned about. This brings us to the problem, which is that we are that we are getting most of our thermal energy needs met by the burning of fossil fuels. For the electricity sector, there is more clarity on how to decarbonize the product production of energy. So the question is how can we meet the thermal needs of heating and cooling our buildings without the burning of fossil fuels. The solution to this problem is to find ways to get our thermal energy needs met while not producing greenhouse gases. Traditionally, there are two ways to solve this problem. Reduce the demand for energy needed for buildings and changing the supply of energy to buildings to cleaner energy sources. Our commission has seen a third solution, thermal energy networks or geothermal energy networks, which I would say is a combination of both demand and supply solutions. On the demand side, energy conservation and optimization programs, or ECO, the new name for the old SIP programs, provides many uh provides ways of reducing the energy needs of buildings. These include improving building envelopes using passive solar design principles and installing more efficient equipment. Making these improvements can save up to 38% of the energy needs of an existing building.
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