HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated June 23, 2026ITEM #:34
DATE:06-23-26
DEPT:P&R
SUBJECT:SOLAR PANELS FOR FITCH FAMILY INDOOR AQUATIC CENTER AND
STEVEN L. SCHAINKER PLAZA
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
BACKGROUND:
The City's Climate Action Plan includes increasing renewable energy generation with one
source of generation being solar energy.
City buildings have been reviewed and two sites, the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center
(FFIAC) and Steven L. Schainker Plaza (SSP) building, are deemed suitable for adding solar
panels to portions of the roof. The FFIAC natatorium was designed and constructed to
accommodate the extra weight of solar panels on the natatorium roof and the SSP building is
able to support an array of panels. In the FY 2026/27 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), funding
has been allocated to install solar panels on both buildings.
Staff developed a Request For Proposals (RFP) for adding solar to the FFIAC and SSP. The
RFP was distributed on March 27, 2026. A pre-proposal meeting was held on April 9, 2026
with multiple companies in attendance. This meeting also included on-site vis
City staff reviewed and scored the proposals on several criteria including the firm's
understanding of the project, experience with similar projects, proposed solar equipment
reliability, production guarantees and warranties, and familiarity with federal tax credits and
how these projects can maximize the tax credits available for these projects. The firms
submitting proposals and their rankings are shown below:
FIRM PROPOSAL SCORE RANK
True Solar, Tiffin, IA 1040 1
CB Solar Inc., Des Moines, IA 990 2
Ideal Energy, LLC, Fairfield, IA 865 3
Brightergy, Liberty, MO 855 4
Rabe Hardware, Inc., Blairstown,
IA 850 5
ECG Solar, Anamosa, IA 830 6
All Energy Solar, Inc., St. Paul, MN 805 7
Eagle Point Solar, Dubuque, IA 800 8
1
1 Source Solar, Ankeny, IA 755 9/10*
Blue Sky Solar, Dubuque, IA 755 9/10*
Ziegler Energy Solutions, LLC,
Bloomington, MN 630 11
*Tied score
The top four ranked firms were invited for an on-site interview. Firms gave an overview of their
proposal and answered questions from staff regarding the proposed systems, including
equipment components selected with proven performance, warranties, and their ability to
demonstrate completion of similar projects, and their ability to obtain tax credits for other public
entities.
The final rank of the four firms included scores from its proposal, interview, and proposed cost.
These are shown below:
FIRM PROPOSAL
SCORE
INTERVIEW
SCORE
COST
SCORE
TOTAL
SCORE FINAL RANK
CB Solar Inc., Des
Moines, IA 990 1505 364 2859 1
True Solar, Tiffin,
IA 1040 1420 344 2804 2
Brightergy,
Liberty, MO 855 1510 376 2741 3
Ideal Energy LLC,
Fairfield, IA 865 1275 380 2520 4
Staff also completed a cost comparison for these four firms and this information is shown
below:
Brightergy CB Solar Ideal Energy True Solar
Proposed Cost $451,360 $463,760 $443,757 $490,030
After Utility
Rebate*$342,860 $347,820 $347,187 $361,410
Estimated 25 YR
Utility Savings $541,421 $497,288 $444,469 $548,269
Payback (Years)17 18 20 17
Potential Federal
Tax Credit**$180,544 $139,128 $177,503 $147,009
10 YR Operations
& Maintenance
(O&M) Plan***
$ 40,400 N/A $ 6,500 $ 7,300
kW Proposed****217 231.88 193.14 257.24
* The utility rebate estimate is provided by Ames Electric and would be issued to the City.
** The credit, if approved, could be anywhere between 30-40% of the total project cost. It is
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not guaranteed the City will receive this credit.
***The RFP did not require an O&M Plan. The RFP stated, "Firms will provide Operations &
Maintenance Service Plan as an optional proposal for up to five years for the entire solar
system."
****RFP proposers were asked to recommend the size of systems utilizing as much of the
identified rooftops as possible.
After considering all aspects of each firm's proposal, staff is prepared to recommend
that a contract be awarded to CB Solar. CB Solar has completed 24 solar projects in Ames
and is familiar with the Ames interconnection process. Additionally, CB Solar is also providing
the best warranty package of the final four firms.
As seen in the table above, CB Solar has N/A for the 10-year O&M plan. Rather than propose
a five-year O&M Plan, the warranty CB Solar offers include 10-year workmanship; 10-year
production guarantee; 20-year inverter and optimizer; and a 25-year panel warranty. The
company is confident in the quality of equipment being installed, as is reflected in their
warranty package.
CB Solar will be installing a combined 231 kW system for the FFIAC and SSP. The lifespan of
the equipment is 25-30 years. This system will reduce emissions by 158 MT CO2e annually,
equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from approximately 37 gasoline-powered
passenger vehicles driven for one year.
The FY 2026/27 CIP includes $700,000 for the installation of solar panels at FFIAC ($585,000
from GO Bonds, and $115,000 from Ames Electric rebates) and $70,000 ($57,500 from
Council Priority fund and $12,500 from Ames Electric rebates) for the installation of solar
panels at SSP, for a total of $770,000 available for these projects.
If approved, the solar installation on FFIAC is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026.
The solar installation at the SSP will be completed by spring 2027.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Award a contract to CB Solar, Inc., Des Moines, IA to install solar panels on the Fitch
Family indoor Aquatic Center and the Steven L. Schainker Plaza building in the amount
of $463,760.
2. Award a contract to one of the other firms.
3. Do not award a contract at this time.
4. Refer back to staff with direction as to how to proceed.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Renewable energy is a goal of the City's adopted Climate Action Plan. Installing solar panels
on FFIAC and SSP invests in renewable energy and reduces carbon emissions and electric
utility costs at both facilities.
When staff reviewed the proposals for this project, CB Solar was scored the highest.
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The firm's representatives are very knowledgeable and proposed a high-quality system
for both facilities, offering the best warranty package of all firms who submitted a
proposal. CB Solar has completed 24 projects in Ames and its familiarity with the Ames
interconnection process is an advantage. Considering all of the information, it is the
recommendation of the City Manager that City Council approve Alternative #1 as stated
above.
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