Richmond’s controversial solar project has gone from rushed, to rejected, to revived, and now to something far more serious.
The project is effectively on hold.
On Friday, October 3, Mayor Danny Avula announced that he is no longer asking City Council to reconsider the solar power purchase agreement after learning of what he described as a “potential relationship” within a city department that could jeopardize the legitimacy of the solar ordinances.
Avula has directed Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II to investigate the matter immediately. The Richmond Times-Dispatch is also reporting that city officials suspended negotiations after questions arose concerning an individual who worked for both City Hall and the solar company during the negotiations.
That changes the entire solar story.
From $20 Million Deal to Rejection
The original proposal called for Secure Solar Futures to install and operate solar panels on as many as 39 city-owned buildings.
Under the proposed 25-year power purchase agreement, the developer would own and maintain the equipment while Richmond purchased the electricity generated by the systems.
The administration projected roughly $19.4 million in energy-cost savings over 25 years and more than 5 megawatts of solar capacity.
But Council members raised significant questions about the contract, including insurance, termination costs, legal liability, rooftop suitability and the structure of the LLCs that would actually enter into agreements with the city.
Perhaps more importantly, the city's own risk analysis recommended revising the agreement to better transfer financial and legal risk to the vendor and suggested considering other solar vendors that might offer more favorable terms.
Council rejected the proposal 5-4 on September 28.
Voting against it were Sarah Abubaker, Kenya Gibson, Nicole Jones, Ellen Robertson and Reva Trammell.
Voting for it were Cynthia Newbille, Katherine Jordan, Andrew Breton and Stephanie Lynch.
Then Came the Attempt to Bring It Back
Ordinarily, that might have ended the matter.
It didn't.
The administration continued looking for a way to salvage the project.
By October 1, the city publicly outlined three possibilities.
The original 39-site, 5-megawatt project was essentially gone because its deadline had passed.
A second option would reduce the project to approximately 17 sites and 3 megawatts, with the administration projecting approximately $15 million in value over 25 years.
That version was supposed to come back before Council on Monday, October 5.
The city's own statement said action after October 6 would make the project financially unviable.
For several days, therefore, Richmond appeared headed toward another extraordinary solar vote.
Not anymore.
Friday Changed Everything
Avula's Friday statement contained a sentence that should get the attention of every Richmond taxpayer:
“I learned of a potential relationship in one of our departments that could put the legitimacy of the solar PPA ordinances in jeopardy.”
The mayor consequently said he was “no longer requesting that Council reconsider the solar PPA ordinances.”
CBS 6 reports that Inspector General Foster Curtiss already has an active investigation involving procurement of the solar project. Curtiss declined to discuss the details of an active investigation.
The Times-Dispatch, meanwhile, reports that city officials are suspending negotiations in response to questions concerning an individual who worked for both City Hall and the company during the negotiations.
Those facts elevate this beyond the earlier argument over whether Richmond should install solar panels.
The immediate issue is now how this procurement was handled.
Council's Earlier Concerns Look More Significant Now
That distinction matters.
Council members who opposed the September 28 proposal repeatedly said they were not necessarily opposing solar energy. They were questioning whether Richmond had performed enough due diligence before committing itself to a complicated 25-year arrangement.
Those concerns included the city's decision not to conduct its own competitive procurement. Instead, Richmond proposed using cooperative procurement based on a 2021 Prince William County Public Schools solicitation. City documents specifically identify that procurement as the mechanism for contracting with the solar developer.
Council members were also being asked to evaluate dozens of agreements under intense deadline pressure.
And the city's Risk Management Bureau had raised concerns of its own.
Now there is an Inspector General investigation and a newly disclosed potential relationship significant enough that the mayor himself says it could jeopardize the legitimacy of the ordinances.
That does not prove wrongdoing.
But it unquestionably strengthens the case for determining exactly what happened before Richmond considers moving forward with this project or a replacement.
The Questions Richmond Now Needs Answered
The most important questions are no longer whether solar panels save electricity or whether federal tax incentives make the project attractive.
Richmond needs to know:
Who is the city employee involved in the potential relationship?
What exactly was that relationship?
When did the relationship begin?
Did the employee participate in developing, evaluating, negotiating or recommending the solar proposal?
Who inside City Hall knew about the relationship?
When did they know?
Was it disclosed to Procurement, the City Attorney, the CAO, the Mayor or City Council?
Did the relationship influence the decision to use cooperative procurement rather than conduct a Richmond-specific competitive solicitation?
And perhaps most importantly:
Why did Richmond get this close to approving a 25-year agreement before this issue surfaced?
Those questions should be answered with documents, timelines and findings, not speculation.
Monday Is No Longer the Main Story
Only days ago, Monday appeared to be the solar project's final deadline.
The administration said the reduced 17-site project could still produce roughly $15 million in value if Council acted quickly.
That urgency has now been overtaken by a more fundamental concern.
The mayor is no longer asking Council to reconsider the ordinances.
The CAO has been directed to investigate.
The Inspector General has an active investigation.
And negotiations have reportedly been suspended.
In practical terms, Richmond's current solar proposal has stopped moving forward.
Richmond Should Find Out What Happened Before Starting Again
Solar energy itself isn't the issue.
Richmond may ultimately decide that installing solar systems on municipal buildings makes financial and environmental sense. The city could eventually pursue another PPA, conduct a new procurement or restructure the project entirely.
But that conversation should come later.
First, Richmond needs a complete accounting of how this proposal traveled from concept to the brink of approval.
The city should determine what happened, disclose what can legally be disclosed, resolve the Inspector General's investigation and examine whether procurement safeguards worked as intended.
Only then should City Hall talk about resurrecting this project.
Because after weeks of warnings about deadlines, tax credits and disappearing savings, Richmond has arrived at a very different deadline:
The deadline for answers.
Brian K. Telfair, The Richmond Chronicle
Why is no one asking questions about corporate corruption initiated by the most powerful corporate entity that stood to lose significant revenue in this deal—Dominion Energy? And its current suitor—NextEra Energy—that has an established record of corporate corruption and manipulation of elected officials?
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent summary article about an urgently needed but wildly incompetent effort to install solar on city buildings. The questions raised -- basically where was the due diligence? -- are good ones. It's agonizing enough to watch year after year go by with little progress on green energy while the world bakes and floods. To have that progress halted through self-inflicted wounds is even more galling. For all its faults, China makes US decision makers look like fools when it comes to planning, vision, imagination and problem-solving. It's bad enough that there's a colossal mess at the federal level, but now here at the city level as well? Sad.
ReplyDeleteMayor Dodo has got to go and the idiots who voted for a huge incompetent can leave too. The abject stupidity among Zcity officials is staggering.
ReplyDelete