City Of St. Louis Park: Climate Champions Connects St. Louis Park Business Owners To Energy Efficiency Resources And Savings

Press release from the City of St. Louis Park:

February 01, 2022 11:29 a.m.

Climate Champions, the City of St. Louis Park’s energy efficiency assistance, cost share and recognition program, has been renewed for 2022.

St. Louis Park businesses can participate by first signing up for a free, whole-building, on-site energy assessment with Energy Smart, a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce program. After the energy assessment, the business will qualify for the Climate Champions cost share, which will match 50% of eligible energy efficiency-related utility rebates, including those for LED lighting, refrigeration, HVAC and insulation projects. Businesses located in certain neighborhoods or those participating in the city’s Efficient Building Benchmarking program may qualify for a 75% rebate match.

After the business completes the energy efficiency project, they will be recognized as a St. Louis Park Climate Champion for helping the city achieve our Climate Action Plan goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.

In 2021, 20 St. Louis Park businesses received energy assessments through program. Many of those businesses have now applied to the cost share to help pursue projects such as LED lighting upgrades. Nelson’s Deli became the city’s first official Climate Champion when the property owner installed a high efficiency rooftop HVAC unit through the program.

The City of St. Louis Park also offers cost share funds for Building Operator Certification training, a nationally-accredited workforce development training focused on efficient building operations, saving owners money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Both the Climate Champions program and the Building Operator Certification cost share seek to create more efficient buildings and informed building owners and operators. Emissions from buildings make up 58% of all greenhouse gas emissions in St. Louis Park. To address this, the city’s Climate Action Plan midterm goals include reducing energy consumption in commercial buildings by 30% in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2040.

Business owners and tenants can sign up for the free energy assessment and learn more about the Climate Champions program.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis Park. The views expressed here are the author’s own.