Purchase energy used by city government - via the municipal utility, green tags, community solar garden, 3rd party - with a higher renewable percentage than required by Minnesota law.
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Purchase above the renewable electricity grid mix required in state law: purchased renewable energy credits ("green tags") and/or a city government subscription of electricity from a community solar garden and/or a "third-party" agreement whereby the city leases roof (or other) space to a company that installs & owns generating capacity sold to the city. Report 'behind the meter' city-generated/ used renewable energy under BPAs 1.7, 20.6, or 22.5. Report city promotion of resident/business purchases from a community solar garden under BPA 26.4. |
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Purchase electricity, natural gas, liquid fuels & steam heat such that in total the energy content of renewables makes up at least 55% of total city operations energy; report if municipal utility generation mix is above that required by MN law; report city council direction to its muni (via board appointments, annual goals/reports/funding) to accelerate work on city clean energy goals. |
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Purchase 100% renewable electricity for city operations from a solar garden, 3rd party, or via green tags; purchase electricity, natural gas, liquid fuels & steam heat such that in total energy content renewables make up at least 50%; join the Green Power Partnership. |
Resources
Requirements & Status:
- The Carbon-Free Standard (energy sources included: solar, hydropower, wind, and nuclear) requires electrical utilities to achieve:
- 80% carbon-free energy by 2030
- 90% by 2035
- 100% by 2040
- The Renewable Energy Standard (energy sources included: wind, solar, hydropower, hydrogen, and biomass) requires that 55% of energy sold to Minnesota customers by 2035 be from renewable sources.
- As of 2023, renewable sources provided 31% of Minnesota’s electricity including wind, solar, hydro, and biomass. See more at the Clean Energy Economy MN Factsheet.
Purchasing & Generation Options:
- Most utilities in Minnesota offer green power or green pricing programs whereby a city can purchase green tags (RECs, or Renewable Energy Credits) that assure additional renewable energy generating capacity is built.
- Read about the 2016 Governmental Solar Garden Subscriber Collaborative, a joint effort by and for 31 local governments in the greater Twin Cities metropolitan region that procured solar garden subscriptions via a single Request for Proposals (RFP) process to offset the energy usage at public facilities. By working together, the participants sought to gain an economy of scale in the solicitation process that could help to attract developers, reduce the administrative burden to vet those developers, and yield better pricing and subscription terms. Cities used their B3 data to gauge the maximum amount of electricity they could subscribe to.
- In 2018 a similar joint purchasing program, Solar Possible, facilitated purchase of 4 MWs of solar PV systems, via a joint RFP and a master contract, by nearly a dozen cities/government units, with cost savings of 10-15%.
- See also the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's group-buy Solarize program.
- Cities participating in the Cooperative Purchasing Venture membership with the State of Minnesota can purchase solar power system design and installation services on state contract release S-1049(5).
- Third-party solar (see a model RFP and other documents) agreements have a city lease city-owned roof (or other) space to a company that installs & owns generating capacity used by the city. Or the city signs a power purchase agreement from generating capacity not on city property. Because a private company can take advantage of any state/federal tax credits, energy costs to the city are typically lower than the local utility rate.
- For actions and resources related to creating local renewable energy generation capacity, see the GreenStep renewable energy best practice.
Green Power Partnership:
- The U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to use green power voluntarily to protect human health and the environment. The goals of the program are to:
- Advance the American market for green power.
- Encourage the development of new U.S.-based renewable electricity sources.
- Reduce air emissions and pollution.
- Recognize leadership and impact in green power use.
- Support basic market principles and practices that serve all U.S. electricity consumers.
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