On Nov. 14, 2017, City Council approved applying for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor's Challenge. The City of Georgetown was selected as a finalist in the Challenge. Winners were chosen on the basis of vision, impact, implementation, and transferability. Georgetown’s application centers on developing the virtual power plant.
City Council approved the acceptance of a $100,000 grant to assist in executing the “test & learn” phase of the Mayor’s Challenge on April 24, 2018. City Council approved the resubmission of the Mayor’s Challenge application for the grand prize of $1 million on Aug.14, 2018.
On Oct. 29, 2018, Michael R. Bloomberg announced Georgetown as a winner of Bloomberg Philanthropies U.S. Mayors Challenge. Nine cities will receive $1 million to begin implementation. Georgetown aims to lease rooftop space for solar panels and ground space for batteries from residential and commercial properties, offsetting the future need to purchase additional power from outside sources to meet peak power demand. Georgetown joins Denver, CO; Durham, NC; Fort Collins, CO; Huntington, WV; Los Angeles, CA; New Rochelle, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and South Bend, IN as winners of the U.S. Mayors Challenge.
On April 9, City Council postponed this item until amendments to the contract addressing ongoing obligations and provisions for ending the agreement were clarified and accepted by Bloomberg Philanthropies. A copy of those changes is attached. Per Bloomberg, the redlines and highlights call out the language throughout the agreement regarding the ability to cancel the grant and limits on the use of unexpended or uncommitted funds.