Minneapolis Climate Action

COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDENS: DID DIRECT OUTREACH, ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION AND COLLABORATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BIPOC-LED, LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZERS WITH 500 COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND RECRUITED 100 PRIMARILY BIPOC AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SUBSCRIBE TO TWO BARRIER-FREE EQUITABLE COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDENS, ENABLING COMMUNITY MEMBERS COMMONLY LEFT OUT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS TO PARTICIPATE AND BENEFIT. THE COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDENS ARE INSTALLED AND SCHEDULED TO CONNECT TO THE GRID IN DECEMBER 2022 TOTALING 550KW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY. NEW COMMUNITY SOLAR SITE ACQUISITION IS ACTIVE, WITH A NEW COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDEN DEVELOPMENT STARTING IN JANUARY 2023. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT CREATED TWO 30 PERSON BIPOC COMMUNITY COHORTS AND ENGAGED WITH 300 COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR GRASSROOTS BASE BUILDING TO COLLABORATE TO SHARE EXPERIENCE AND WISDOM OF CLIMATE IMPACTS; UNDERSTAND CLIMATE SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY JUSTICE; AND USE THAT KNOWLEDGE TO DEMOCRATIZE OUR RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION. MCA'S PARTNERSHIP STYLE IS DESCRIBED THIS WAY BY MCA PARTNER, CARMEN LEWIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD, IN THE HEART OF GEORGE FLOYD SQUARE: TOGETHER WE CREATED A COALITION WITH TWO OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS CALLED SOUTHSIDE GOES GREEN. SOUTHSIDE GOES GREEN (SOUTHSIDE SE VUELVE VERDE) HAS BECOME A COMMUNITY CATALYST THAT EDUCATES AND EMPOWERS BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES TO BECOME ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS WHILE BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE CREATION OF EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDENS. CANDO RECOGNIZES THAT BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE ARE 75% MORE LIKELY TO LIVE NEAR POLLUTION SITES. MCA HAS A UNIQUE INTEREST IN EDUCATING AND BUILDING COMMUNITY "WITH" OUR COMMUNITY INSTEAD OF "FOR" OUR COMMUNITY. THIS APPROACH SPEAKS TO OUR VALUES OF SHARING POWER AND FIGHTING TOGETHER TO DISSOLVE INJUSTICE DISPARITIES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES." COMMUNITY SOLAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TOOLKIT MCA WORKED WITH PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR A SHAREABLE COMMUNITY SOLAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TOOLKIT, AN ACCESSIBLE, APPROACHABLE AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT ONLINE AND PRINT RESOURCE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, NONPROFITS, MINNEAPOLIS NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS. WORK INCLUDED COMMUNITY EVENTS AND SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION, ENGAGEMENT WITH LEGISLATORS, CITY OFFICIALS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, RESEARCH OF SUCCESSFUL CLIMATE RELATED COMMUNITY OUTREACH, AND WORKING WITH ARTISTS, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS, AND YOUTH, ALL IN SERVICE OF AN EFFECTIVE TOOLKIT TO ADDRESS OUR CLIMATE CRISIS. THE TOOLKIT WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED INFORMATION AND MOTIVATION TO CREATE COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDENS, A POWERFUL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TOOL TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENERGY BILL BURDENS, PROVIDE LOCAL GREEN JOBS, RAISE AWARENESS OF DISPARATE CLIMATE IMPACTS AND CREATE A POWERFUL STRUCTURE TO BRING RENEWABLE ENERGY BENEFITS DOWN TO THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.