Allina Health unveils new community solar garden
“I am just so happy that this has come together, and it’s here, and it’s all working. It’s just fantastic,” said Suzanne Savanick Hansen, Environmental Sustainability manager, Allina Health.
This is not your typical garden; it is located on the roof of the Purple Ramp parking structure, situated on Chicago Avenue and 28th Street in south Minneapolis. Instead of using concrete to construct the roof, Allina Health partnered with Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) to use solar panels. Five years and more than 2,050 solar panels later, the community solar garden is complete. It is expected to generate nearly 1.3 million kilowatts of electricity annually.
“We needed to put a roof on here,” added Savanick Hansen. “It makes sense to put on a solar roof. It’s not just us getting solar energy. It helps both reduce pollution in our neighborhood and reduce the electricity bills for some of our neighbors. It’s a win-win.
This project was both pioneering and complex. Allina Health worked intentionally to balance the need for more parking with the need to minimize environmental harm. Simultaneously, CEF managed designs, supplies, regulations and member recruitment.
“The cool thing about community solar gardens is, you can sign up folks who may not be able to put panels on their house,” said Charlie Rybak, chief operating officer, CEF. “We came to an agreement with Allina Health where we could sign up people in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
55% of the energy generated from the community solar garden atop the Purple Ramp is designated for low-income and moderate-income households. South Minneapolis-based CEF is owned by its members/subscribers. It has 13 community solar gardens across the state and 1,300 member households. By paying an initial fee of $25, households become members of the company by purchasing a stake in the company. In exchange, CEF ensures members receive their credits from Xcel Energy to lower their energy bills. Since they are essentially shareholders, members also earn profit distributions from CEF.
“Projects like this one provide a way for people in the community to stabilize their energy costs,” said Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, general manager, Cooperative Energy Futures.
Lisa Sass Zaragoza, a south Minneapolis resident, learned about the Purple Ramp’s community solar garden through CEF’s outreach at the Minnesota State Fair. She believes solar gardens give the community a voice in how energy is bought and sold.
“This notion of having a say and having a voice and seat at the table is fundamental to what I believe,” shared Sass Zaragoza. “I would support solar panels all over the place, but this one, which is member-based and cooperative-based, is a very strong match for my values.”
The values of the community played a prominent role in every decision made for the Abbott Northwestern Hospital revitalization project. In addition to the community solar garden, Allina Health also opened a bike center on the Midtown Greenway, as well as a pollinator garden near the Greenway.
“This feels great. The project is moving along. We are about a year away from being able to open the Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center, our first LEED-certified building,” said Tony LaCroix-Dalluhn, vice president, Facilities Management, Allina Health. “We are excited to keep showing how you can build for function while prioritizing the environment.”
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