SolSmart Designees

Metropolitan Council

Minnesota
SolSmart Gold
Population: 3,152,564
Designation Level: SolSmart Gold
Year Designated: 2019
View Designee Website

More communities than ever are using solar energy thanks in part to a program that makes it easier for local governments to make the switch to sun. The Great Plains Institute (GPI) led the Upper Midwest cohort of communities seeking SolSmart designation, the largest in the nation. Working with Clean Energy Resource Teams, Metropolitan Council, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, and Winneshiek Energy District, communities across Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are now designated as “solar ready.”

The Council’s role is to work across local boundaries to address key shared issues and to support local governments in addressing those issues. Increasingly, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and resilience are interests we all share to be competitive as a region and improve the livability, vitality and prosperity of our local communities.
- Lisa Barajas, Community Development Director of the Metropolitan Council