La Crescent is the first city in Minnesota and the fourth municipality nationwide to achieve SolSmart Platinum designation. To achieve Platinum, La Crescent took action to increase solar readiness in their community and adopted an automated solar permitting platform.
Since 2016, the US Department of Energy has funded SolSmart, a national designation and technical assistance program that helps local governments make it faster, easier, and more affordable for residents and businesses to go solar.
GPI serves as a SolSmart liaison, working with communities to understand the options available and to help them determine which designation level best fits their needs and goals. Upon completing different actions, a community receives points, ultimately leading to one of four designations: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Platinum designation was introduced in 2023.
We congratulate the City of La Crescent on earning this national designation. To learn more about the program, visit SolSmart’s website. To learn more about how we’re removing barriers to accelerate renewable energy deployment, see our Renewable Energy team’s web page.
