Community Solar Garden

Home
United States
Grand Rapids, MN
Community Solar Garden

A community solar garden for the Grand Rapids Area will be an array of solar panels whose power is sh What is a Solar Garden? Why? How does it work?

A community solar garden is an installation of solar panels whose power is shared by people, businesses and institutions in the community. A community solar garden gives all of us access to solar power. Many people want to use solar power, but they lack the time, location and/or expertise to install their own solar panels. The Community Solar Garden lets us have solar electricity without the hassl

e. An array of solar panels is installed in a location with a good sunny exposure. The power is distributed through the local utility. People subscribe from the array for solar power and they are credited on their utility bill for the power created by their subscribed share of the Community Solar Garden. How can I get involved in creating our local Community Solar Garden? Supporter – Sign our support statement
Subscriber – Put yourself on the list of potential subscribers
Developer – Join the Itasca Clean Energy Team to help develop one or more Community Solar Gardens for our area. Outreach Partner – Get your church, organization or local group involved in supporting Community Solar Gardens by finding supporters and subscribers. Who else will be involved? Location host - A location where the solar array is installed
Finance - Sources of financing for the project
Utility – The Grand Rapids PUC or other local utility needs to be involved to distribute the power and credit people for their subscriptions. Site Assessor - Expert to help evaluate and choose a location for the solar array
Installer - Expert to install the solar garden and connect it to the local utility

10/25/2022

Red Lake and White Earth Bands lead by example, adopting solar power for job creation and energy independence. Here's a link for the full story:

https://www.startribune.com/red-lake-white-earth-solar-energy-projects-mean-new-employment-opportunities/600218613

09/30/2022

Here's an interesting piece about the current status of solar panel recycling, and efforts to improve it.

A recent Northeast Recycling Council webinar covered how manufacturing and standards must converge to handle this growing material stream.

05/26/2022

Curious about going solar? Join Solar United Neighbors for a free virtual Iron Range Solar Co-op information session on Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. The solar co-op is people using their group buying power to get a good deal on solar, while tapping into the expertise of Solar United Neighbors.

At the information session, the experts at SUN will walk you through solar energy, technology, and how their nonprofit solar co-op model simplifies the process of going solar and makes it more affordable.

Here's the link to register for the info session:

https://solarunitedneighbors-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vJTT-TnaSyaNDQegTWPEPA

05/12/2022

Interested in going solar? The Iron Range Solar Co-op is open to new members! Sign up by July 31 to join the Iron Range Solar Co-op. There is no cost to join and no obligation to install. Learn more and become a member today. Here's a link for more information:

Open to the residents of the Iron Range including the communities of Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Chisholm, Virginia, Eveleth, Hoyt Lakes, and Ely.

03/27/2022

Big news! We just learned that the long-awaited ribbon-cutting celebration for the Grand Rapids solar-plus-storage system will take place on May 3rd at 10:00 AM! The storage batteries were hung up in the supply chain for months but are finally on-site and connection is underway. The system is expected to start providing renewable energy for GRPU customers in a couple of weeks. More details on the celebration will be coming soon--save the date!!

03/04/2022

Minnesota Power's parent company, Allete, has purchased one of the state's oldest and most prominent solar companies.

The shared vision of positively impacting the world with solar energy will ensure that our combined venture will enjoy tremendous success.

11/16/2021

Here's an updated article on our local solar-plus-storage project, courtesy of Midwest Energy News:

After six years of twists and turns, a solar-storage project is finally nearing completion in a northern Minnesota city, where local leaders first fought, then collaborated with their electricity supplier to complete the project.

11/16/2021

Here's a really positive story about farming the land beneath solar gardens. So you get renewable energy plus veggies!

The newly passed federal infrastructure bill could lead to a boom in solar production requiring a lot more land, including farmland. But research is showing solar panels might actually help some crops grow.

10/26/2021

This opinion piece provides a good summary of where we are today, and where we need to go.

Solar panels are in high demand but have been particularly hard hit this year by supply chain problems.

10/11/2021

We are excited to see that construction of the Grand Rapids solar-plus-storage project is well under way!! If you're in the area, take a drive on Airport Road just east of Home Depot and you can't miss it.

Address

Grand Rapids, MN

Website

http://grandcsg.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Community Solar Garden posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.