Midwest Clean Energy Accelerator Demonstrating Solutions for Northern Climates
City of St. Louis Park
In 2018 the City of St. Louis Park passed its Climate Action Plan, adopting the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal in the state: carbon neutrality by 2040. The impetus for the plan began two years earlier when a group of St. Louis Park high school students presented their concerns about climate change to the city council; as the students represented faces of the future of the city, the council felt a moral imperative to respond with urgency to the climate crisis.
Since that historic event over six years ago, staff have been focused on implementing the Climate Action Plan. In 2020 the city cut the ribbon on the new interpretive center at Westwood Hills Nature Center, one of the only net-zero-designed commercial buildings in the state. A new sustainability division was approved in 2019, a new funding source for climate action incentive programs was established in 2021, and staff have created equitably designed programs to incentivize energy efficiency, install solar, and support electrification for all types of buildings in the city. Additional incentive programs for tree planting and tree health, as well as pavement removal, have also been used by local property owners.
As St. Louis Park looks to the future, focus shifts towards adaptation and resilience. Staff are researching technologies to mitigate extreme heat events, to shift electric loads to less carbon-intensive times, and to allow Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) systems. Staff are also interested in decarbonizing The Rec Center, one of the region’s most visited ice rinks and recreation facilities.
Since that historic event over six years ago, staff have been focused on implementing the Climate Action Plan. In 2020 the city cut the ribbon on the new interpretive center at Westwood Hills Nature Center, one of the only net-zero-designed commercial buildings in the state. A new sustainability division was approved in 2019, a new funding source for climate action incentive programs was established in 2021, and staff have created equitably designed programs to incentivize energy efficiency, install solar, and support electrification for all types of buildings in the city. Additional incentive programs for tree planting and tree health, as well as pavement removal, have also been used by local property owners.
As St. Louis Park looks to the future, focus shifts towards adaptation and resilience. Staff are researching technologies to mitigate extreme heat events, to shift electric loads to less carbon-intensive times, and to allow Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) systems. Staff are also interested in decarbonizing The Rec Center, one of the region’s most visited ice rinks and recreation facilities.