Northfield is receiving a Silver designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar. This designation recognizes the City of Northfield for taking bold steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development. For companies looking to expand, a SolSmart Silver designation is a signal that Northfield is “open for solar business.”
SolSmart is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. More than 400 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016. “Northfield has a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity for our community by 2030,” stated Beth Kallestad, Climate Action Plan program coordinator. “To achieve that goal there will need to be an increase in locally generated energy such as on-site solar. Working through the SolSmart designation process helped us to see where some improvements that are within the city’s control could be made and others still to make.”
As a SolSmart designee, Northfield is helping solar companies greatly reduce the cost of installations and pass those savings on to consumers. This allows even more local homes and businesses to obtain affordable, clean, and reliable electricity through solar. The actions Northfield has taken will help encourage solar companies to do business in the area, driving economic development and creating local jobs. To receive designation, cities and counties make changes to their local processes to reduce the time and money it takes to install a solar energy system. This includes evaluating local permitting processes, as well as planning and zoning procedures. SolSmart designees also develop innovations in areas such as market development and finance. “As part of the SolSmart designation process we have updated our website with additional building permit information as well has having some of our inspections staff take part in training geared to solar installations,” noted Mike Morehouse, city building official.
SolSmart uses objective criteria to award communities points based on the actions they take to reduce barriers to solar energy development. Communities that take sufficient action are designated either gold, silver, or bronze.As part of the SolSmart program, a team of national experts provide no-cost technical assistance to help communities achieve designation. All municipalities, counties, and regional organizations are eligible to join the SolSmart program and receive this technical assistance. Interested communities can learn more at SolSmart.org.
Reach Regional Managing Editor Philip Weyhe at 507-931-8579 or follow him on Twitter @EditorPhilipWeyhe. ©Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
Source: https://www.southernminn.com/northfield_news/news/article_db882d42-5694-510e-80da-8384cf3bbeff.html
