City of Eden Prairie
Challenge
The City of Eden Prairie began its efforts to reduce their environmental footprint in 2005 with the formation of the City's Conservation Commission, now known as the Sustainability Commission. Today the City continues to follow the practices that led to its success and find new ways to conserve energy and reduce its carbon footprint.
Eden Prairie has made some important strides toward increasing investment in renewable energy, the latest being the addition of over 800 kW of solar installed at three of the City's buildings. The energy produced will be used by the buildings to help reduce energy costs to the City. Any excess power produced will be pushed back to the grid and spin that facility's electric meter backward helping to save the taxpayer's money while minimizing the negative effects that energy production can have on the environment.
Our Solution
Apex Facility Solutions, SBC assessed the City’s energy needs and available roof and ground space through an energy audit. This information allowed our solar designers and engineers to create a plan for custom solar energy arrays that would meet the City of Eden Prairie's needs. Once the design was complete, Apex worked with a number of third party tax investors to develop the optimal financial package for the City. This resulted in the entire system being installed at no cost to the City with an annual savings of over $50,000.
Final Result
By updating to solar energy, Eden Prairie will remain a leader in sustainability, a city that the residents are proud to call home, and a municipality their employees are proud to work for.
The City qualified for the Xcel Demand Credit Program. This means that they are compensated 6.9648¢/kWH between the hours of 1 PM and 7 PM during all months of the year by producing energy when Xcel needs it the most.
PROJECT NUMBERS:
Total System Size: 847 KW
Renewable Energy Produced: 1,112,360 kWh/Yr.
“Apex played an essential role when working to get the City’s solar project from concept to completion. The communication was exceptional as well as the ability to draw on experience from previous similar projects proved invaluable. The ability to think outside the box and strive towards a solution instilled confidence in working with Apex. The City absolutely plans to continue the relationship utilizing Apex’s experience and expertise on future projects.”
