Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Xcel Energy receive clean energy leadership award for solar projects
Posted on 16 May, 2018Xcel Energy and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board are recipients of the Clean Energy State Alliance’s “State Leadership in Clean Energy” award for bringing solar power to five Minneapolis parks over the last three years. The project is one of six programs nationwide recognized with a 2018 “SLICE” Award for its outstanding accomplishments.
A nearly $1 million grant from the Xcel Energy Renewable Development Fund and $150,000 in matching funds from the MPRB made the project possible. In 2014, the MPRB received the grant and began community engagement and research to vet 52 potential sites for renewable energy in the Minneapolis park system. Five sites were ultimately selected.
The first, and largest installation, was completed at Parade Ice Arena in December 2015. Projects at East Phillips Cultural and Community Center, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Webber Natural Swimming Pool began producing power in 2016 and the final solar installation was completed at Lake Nokomis Main Beach during summer 2017. Visit www.minneapolisparks.org/solar to view a video with more information on the project.
“This project is a great example of public and private partners working together to benefit the community and we’re honored to be recognized,” said Lee Gabler, senior director of customer solutions, Xcel Energy. “Renewable energy options are a big part of our future, and we’re pleased to work with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation board on a project that exposes more people to the benefits of solar energy.”
“This is a wonderful project that demonstrates the enormous potential for solar energy in our parks – at the beach, pool, ice arena or recreation center,” said Mary Merrill, superintendent, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. “We’re proud of the project’s thorough community engagement process, creative planning and beautiful result, and thrilled to be recognized by the distinguished experts at the Clean Energy States Alliance.”
The Clean Energy States Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of public agencies working together to advance clean energy, established these biennial awards to highlight model programs and projects that have accelerated the adoption of clean energy technologies and strengthened clean energy markets. The recipients of the awards were chosen by an independent panel of five distinguished judges, each with years of experience in clean energy.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit www.xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.