Substantial Long-Term Savings for Brooklyn Park Taxpayers
The City of Brooklyn Park completed the largest solar installation in Minnesota located at city facilities. With the completion of this important project, taxpayers will save $60,000 in electricity in 2020 and more than $5.5M over 25 years.
“Back in 2015, we worked closely with the community to decide where we want the City of Brooklyn Park to go. It was clear they want the city to be a leader in environmental sustainability,” said Mayor Lunde. “Four years later, we are proud to say we were able to complete this project without any cost burden on taxpayers.”
Leveraging Underutilized Rooftops and City Real Estate
The solar panels are located at three operations and maintenance buildings, the Community Activity Center, police station, central fire station and the water treatment plant. The panels installed generate more than 1.5 Megawatts of electricity per year, which is enough to power about 200 households. The city also entered into several solar garden agreements with Xcel Energy, which brings the city to 100% sustainable energy for city facilities including buildings, streetlights and sewer lift stations.
“We should be running towards green energy solutions, not away from them, and I’m proud of the leadership and innovation that is happening right here in Brooklyn Park,” said Congressman Phillips. “It’s extraordinary what we can accomplish when local, state, federal and private entities join together. Our community will emerge stronger — environmentally and economically — through these investments, and will light the way for others to follow.”
Navigating Funding and Development with Standard Solar
A Minnesota Solar grant, federal tax credits and a third-party investment from Standard Solar paid for the nearly $2.6M solar panel installation. The city, in partnership with Standard Solar, worked with Apex Efficiency Solutions to install the commercial solar project on sites throughout the city.
