Discussion:
Since August 2019, the City of Shakopee has taken a series of ongoing best practices as a participant in the Minnesota GreenSteps Cities program and reached Step 2 status with a total of 46 different actions documented. Some of these include; the City and School District benchmark the utility use of all its facilities with water being tracked since 2016, streetlighting converted to Dark-Sky LEDs, tree planting, and building solar accommodations into the zoning code to remove barriers to solar installations.
To reach Step 3, there are specific actions that need to be taken such as organizing goals/outcome measures from city plans/metrics and show the progress towards meeting these goals. SolSmart is a free-to-use organization that can help the City complete these specific actions and assist in tracking these metrics in a user-friendly format while continuing the work the City has taken to make itself solar friendly and set the City up to meet the requirements of Steps 4 and 5.
SolSmart is a program connecting local governments with no-cost technical support to remove unnecessary barriers to solar companies and installation. SolSmart analyzes code, evaluates programs and practices that impact solar markets, and identifies high-prospect opportunities for improvements. By streamlining these requirements and using objective criteria to encourage solar development, communities become more desirable for the solar industry and attract solar investment, economic development, and new jobs. Since the program launched in 2016, more than 400 cities, counties, and regional organizations in 41 states have achieved SolSmart designation Bronze, Silver, or Gold; including dozens of cities in Minnesota such as:
- Belle Plaine, MN; Bronze
- Bloomington, MN; Gold
- Burnsville, MN; Bronze
- Coon Rapids, MN; Silver
- Eden Prairie, MN; Gold
- Edina, MN; Gold, Special Recognition for Permitting and Inspection
- Minneapolis, MN; Gold, Special Recognition for Planning and Zoning
- Northfield, MN; Silver
- Roseville, MN; Gold
- Saint Anthony Village, MN; Silver
- Saint Louis Park, MN; Silver
- Shorewood, MN; Silver
- South St. Paul, MN; Bronze
- Woodbury, MN; Silver
SolSmart will build upon Shakopee’s existing solar infrastructures such as developing a streamlined online permit processing system, solar as an accessory use in all zoning districts, and utilizing public facilities such as Eagle Creek Elementary, Shakopee High School’s ELC, and the Blue Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant to install demonstratable solar through partnerships with CERTs, the Metropolitan Council, and the Shakopee Public School District. Shakopee will also use GreenStep Cities/Schools and Minnesota Solar Schools to continue encouraging the development of local solar and other renewable markets to further expansion of the 140+ residential solar permits, multiple EV charger and vehicle investments, and strengthening local facilities to be resilient and address a changing landscape.
Shakopee will leverage SolSmart to progress towards the goals defined in the Natural Resources and Resilience Goals and Strategies by:
Reviewing zoning requirements to identify barriers to solar PV development and compile findings in a memo presented to the Planning Commission to determine if code language needs to be changed and ensure landscaping in public spaces and surrounding public buildings won’t prevent adequate solar collection should solar energy systems be installed and utilize best practices to reserve appropriate land for future wind production facilities.
Develop a solar PV assessment that identifies all feasible sites for large-scale solar PV development and timelines for the inclusion of specific solar PV goals, metrics, and strategies into existing or future plans as well as tracking these goals in existing systems.
Establish a GIS Dashboard and Solar Landing page containing information including solar goals, educational materials, and resources for solar development (e.g. resources for home/business owners, online dashboard or summary of the solar PV community metrics, solar map of the community, and training/career opportunities in coordination with local colleges/workforce development organizations.