Public Open House for Solar Grant at MPRB
Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 6:52AM;)
Via an October 9 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:
Public Open House for Solar Grant
The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board will hold a public open house from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at Park Board headquarters to gain community ideas for solar energy demonstration projects in the Minneapolis park system. Possibilities could include roof panels, fence-mounted panels, shade canopies or other techniques there is room for creativity.
Xcel Energy has recommended full funding of the Park Board’s grant request for 200 kiloWatts (kW) of Minnesota-made solar panels from Xcel’s Renewable Development Fund. The grant award is $970,000 with a $150,000 Park Board match. The grant still needs approval by the Public Utilities Commission. The community input received at the open house will be important to Park Board determination of the final list of proposed projects.
The MPRB proposal is for one 150 kW roof-mounted installation and five demonstration installations at high visibility locations. The project will also include an interpretive and educational program. Because of its large, year-round energy consumption and large roof area, Parade Ice Garden has already been identified as the proposed roof-mounted installation. Annually, the project will produce roughly 280,000 kiloWatt hours of electricity and offset 400,000 pounds of carbon.
The Park Board was one of only 20 projects out of 67 applications to receive funding. Xcel is recommending a total of $30,122,346 in grant awards to 20 energy production projects, 4 Research and Development projects, and 3 Higher Education block grants.
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