The Metropolitan Council is receiving a Silver designation from the national SolSmart program for leadership in helping communities in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region advance solar energy. The Council becomes the nation’s first regional organization to achieve SolSmart designation.
Since 2016, SolSmart has designated more than 230 cities, counties and small towns nationwide for taking bold steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development.
The Council’s Silver designation highlights the organization’s achievements in expanding solar across the region, such as by offering resources and technical assistance on solar planning, and market development and finance.
The Council has advised 76 communities on solar, including 26 municipalities that have achieved or are on the pathway to achieving SolSmart designation.
“The Council’s role is to work across local boundaries to address key shared issues and to support local governments in addressing those issues,” said Lisa Barajas, Community Development Director for the Council. “Increasingly, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and resilience are interests we all share to be competitive as a region and improve the livability, vitality and prosperity of our local communities.”
SolSmart is led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office.
Read the SolSmart news release