St. Paul citizens gathering to advocate for clean energy in their community

In the wake of growing climate change concerns, a group of motivated St. Paulites have been working together to create more sustainable and budget-friendly energy solutions, block by block. SP350 and Unidos have partnered to advocate for Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) throughout the city to provide community means of heating and cooling.

TENs use water source heat pumps and underground pipes to repurpose thermal energy for heating, cooling, and hot water. The heat is moved throughout the system and balanced to create comfortable atmospheres. This process can be done through deep boreholes that access consistent temperate ground temperatures or by redistributing waste heat from large refrigerated buildings such as ice rinks, industrial buildings, or grocery stores. This reduces dependence on oil and gas for heat. TENs and geothermal systems are already underway in St. Paul at The Heights housing development and several buildings at Como Zoo. The Saint Paul school disctrict has committed to transitioning its school buidlings to geothermal heating and cooling, starting with Johnson High School.

SP350 and Unidos are working to implement TENs in neighborhood sites throughout the city of St. Paul toward a vision of total decarbonization. Groups met with their City Council Members and advocated for this priority during Mayor Carter’s budget listening sessions. The plan includes new revenue from with franchise fees, that is, fees collected by cities from utility operators for using public rights-of-way to deliver their services. Since 1979, these fees were not allowed to be charged in the winter months in the City of St. Paul, but this prohibition has recently been removed, resulting in this crucial new source of revenue that could be invested in decarbonizing by 2050. 

To share this vision for community-scale climate action with our neighbors and elected officials, SP350 and Unidos will be hosting a “People’s Climate Action Summit” on Saturday, October 5th, 10:30am-noon, at Academia Cesar Chavez (1801 Lacrosse Ave). Registration and further details can be found by following this link: https://secure.everyaction.com/2vr5a7dHlU-Alb2q-Nw7ZA2