Drafter
Clerk 08/26/2016
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the sale of environmental attributes held by the county; authorizing the transit division to enter into an agreement with Element Markets Renewable Energy, LLC, for the sale of Renewable Identification Numbers and other environmental attributes associated with the transit division's electric trolley and battery bus fleets.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The transit division operates a fleet of one hundred fifty-nine electric trolley buses in the city of Seattle. In 2016, it will also operate three battery buses and may operate significantly more in the future.
2. The electric trolley buses operated by the transit division have over twenty million boardings per year and are a major component of the public transportation system.
3. Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standards Program, consumption of renewably generated electricity to power the trolley buses and the battery buses has the potential to create Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs"), which can be sold to companies that blend gasoline for the retail market and have Environmental Protection Agency-mandated Renewable Fuel Obligations.
4. The transit division's trolley bus fleet consumes an estimated eighteen million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, which is equal to approximately 797,600 RINs.
5. On March 19, 2015, the transit division issued a request for proposals for the sale of RINs and other environmental attributes associated with the transit division's electric trolley and battery bus fleets.
6. The transit division has negotiated a contract with an outside party for the sale of RINs and other environmental attributes associated with the transit division's electric trolley and battery bus fleets. The contract also provides an option for the sale of RINS generated by other King County departments and divisions. Finally, the contract allows other governments to use the contract's terms and...
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