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. 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 will 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.

SolSmart continues to build upon the actions and partnerships the City of Shakopee has cultivated as part of Minnesota GreenStep Cities, Cities Charging Ahead, and other collaborative efforts with Shakopee Public Utilities, to remove barriers to renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure while using existing tools and resources to effectively incorporate the goals in the public statement to progress towards the goals laid out in Envision Shakopee 2040.

Shakopee will leverage SolSmart to make 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.
  
  
• Developing 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.
  
  
• Establishing 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.