City of Columbia, Missouri  
Meeting Minutes - Final  
City Council  
Conference Room  
1A/1B  
Monday, November 20, 2023  
5:00 PM  
Pre-Council  
Columbia City Hall  
701 E. Broadway  
I. CALL TO ORDER  
Mayor Buffaloe called the meeting to order at approximately 5:00 p.m.  
The Energy Authority (TEA) Virtual Presentation - Results of the 100%  
Renewable by 2030 Study.  
Attachments: Draft CMWL 100% Renewable Study  
Draft Financial Impact  
Dave introduced representatives from The Energy Authority (TEA). These representatives  
presented Council members with information regarding the Columbia Missouri Water &  
Light 100% renewable by 2030 study.  
The purpose of this 20-year study (2024-2043) is to determine the impact of achieving  
100% renewable energy and capacity by 2030. They went on to discuss the scope as  
well as different scenarios.  
Representatives explained the capacity definitions:  
Nameplate capacity - The maximum rated output of a generator  
- Units are MW  
Firm capacity - A measure of a generator's ability to provide power to the grid when  
needed  
- Calculated by MISO for planning requirements  
- Columbia’s total firm capacity must be at or above forecasted peak load plus a reserve  
margin (7.4% during the summer season)  
- Units are MW  
Bilateral capacity - Firm capacity that is purchased directly from another utility/resource  
owner  
- Purchased when additional firm capacity is needed to meet planning requirements  
- This purchase can be long-term (10+ years) or short-term (one year/one season)  
- Units are MW  
They went on to discuss the different scenarios. Council and Staff as well as the  
representatives had further discussions.  
Lastly, the main takeaways were:  
Largest financial impact to Columbia in achieving 100% renewable is if existing thermal  
resources are retired early.  
- Additional risks present if thermal resource retirements are not approved by MISO.  
Retirement of existing thermal resources results in substantial bilateral capacity  
purchases.  
- Bilateral capacity assumed to be purchased from any available resource, purchasing  
strictly from renewable resources would likely result in increased costs.  
There is value in setting incremental renewable goals rather than a single goal at a  
specified year.  
- Renewable PPA prices are changing over time, this presents a risk when investing in a  
large volume of PPAs in just one year.  
Additional risks associated with loss of local generation in extreme weather events were  
not evaluated in this study.  
- Congestion rights costs and ancillary services not considered in this study.  
Assumed transmission upgrades in alternate case 4 to be complete by 2035 is  
improbable.  
- Transmission upgrade cost is an estimate, further evaluation required for reliability  
impacts and definite costs.  
II. ANY OTHER ITEMS COUNCIL MAY WISH TO DISCUSS  
None.  
III. ADJOURNMENT  
The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:48 p.m.