St. Louis Park Earns 3rd Place In National Community Energy Challenge

Press release from the City of St. Louis Park:

January 20, 2021

St. Louis Park earned third place of 30 small cities nationwide in a recent analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) of cities’ efforts to cut energy waste and embrace clean energy. The cities analyzed, with populations between 16,000 and 100,000, were in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey. The cities volunteered to be evaluated as part of the Community Energy Challenge sponsored by ACEEE, Minnesota GreenStep Cities and several other organizations. ACEEE evaluated each of the communities on policy metrics assessing government operations, community initiatives, buildings policies, and energy and water utilities. The combined scores allowed ACEEE to rank the municipalities.

The analysis assessed policies and programs to make energy efficiency upgrades in homes and businesses, accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, set long-term commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and establish and enforce building codes. Moving forward, ACEEE and the Great Plains Institute will provide the cities with technical assistance to support their energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts. This will assist the City of St. Louis Park in meeting the goals of its Climate Action Plan, which provides guidance for residents, businesses and the city to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and impacts of climate change, with a goal of the city achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. Learn more about the Community Energy Challenge.

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