Grant Awarded to EPNI & CEF - $100,000 for Community Solar
We’re thrilled to announce that Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) and East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) have been awarded a $100,000 federal grant to design a community-serving solar array in South Minneapolis. This project, set to be the largest urban solar array near a city center in the U.S., will power the East Phillips urban farm and provide energy cost savings to local households. Stay tuned for more updates on this transformative initiative!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Daniel Colten Schmidt, daniel@epnifarm.org
Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, timothy@cooperativeenergyfutures.com
Cooperatively-Owned Solar Energy Developer and Community-Based Organization Awarded Major Federal Grant for Development of Solar Array in South Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. — On Tuesday March 26, the Department of Energy awarded the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) and Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) $100,000 in grant funding. These organizations will use the funding for the design of a community-serving solar array within the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. The array will help power the East Phillips urban farm project, a mixed-use community center that EPNI will be developing at the Roof Depot site, and deliver energy cost savings to surrounding communities.
The funding comes from the National Renewable Energy Lab’s (NREL) Community Energy Innovation prize, which funds clean energy and manufacturing initiatives that engage underserved communities.
“The project will be the largest solar array within two miles of an urban center in the entire country,” said Daniel Colten Schmidt, an EPNI staff member who co-wrote the grant. “This money from NREL makes the installation of this national gem [the array] possible,”
At over 2 megawatts, the project is expected to provide part of its power to the EPNI urban farm facility and provide power to surrounding houses through Minnesota’s community solar program. Through this arrangement, the array will deliver significant energy cost savings to residents of the East Phillips neighborhood, over a third of whom make less than $35,000 a year. It is estimated that subscribing households, who will become CEF member-owners, will see their electric bills decline by 20-50% over the lifespan of the array.
The East Phillips urban farm has been the vision of a group of East Phillips residents for the Roof Depot site for a decade, and the project saw major advancement last year when the City of Minneapolis agreed to sell the Roof Depot site to EPNI after a years-long fight. EPNI is coordinating the pre-development of the center, which includes developing a novel community ownership model that redistributes wealth generated by the project to community initiatives. The solar array, estimated to be worth $5 million, would be owned cooperatively by CEF’s member-owners: the residents of the neighborhood.
"As a longstanding supporter of the Roof Depot project, I commend the Department of Energy for supporting initiatives like this collaboration between East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) and Cooperative Energy Futures. This grant funding represents a vital step towards empowering communities through clean energy innovation, ensuring energy cost savings, and fostering inclusive development in Minneapolis. Together, we are building a brighter, greener future for all,” said Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, representing District 63A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
“EPNI and CEF’s partnership on this project is especially meaningful given our shared value of community ownership. We want wealth to stay in our communities and benefit our communities, rather than being siphoned off by developers and corporations,” said Colten Schmidt.
Colten Schmidt says that EPNI and CEF will continue to work together over the next stages of the project, using the federal money to design the schematics for the array, developing an options agreement, and developing an interconnection agreement with Xcel Energy.
Please get in touch to learn more about this development and to be connected with sources.
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The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI, epnifarm.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization fighting for environmental justice and innovative economic development in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN. Started by neighbors determined to bring healing and needed resources into their historically neglected community, EPNI led a 10-year fight against the city of Minneapolis to win communal stewardship of a 7-acre vacant warehouse in the heart of East Phillips. Now, EPNI and its growing list of partners hold the opportunity to transform this warehouse into a cooperatively-owned, solar-powered community hub and indoor urban farm with community care at the core.
Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF, cooperativeenergyfutures.com) is a 308B Minnesota cooperative association that makes clean energy accessible to all. CEF’s mission is to empower communities across Minnesota to build energy democracy through solutions that are clean, local, and ours. We exist to create access to, benefit from, and provide ownership of clean energy for low-income households, communities of color, and renters. Our cooperative model ensures our projects are accountable to – and build wealth for – local communities.