Title
Supporting the application to the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority to build a District Geothermal Energy System at the Heights.
Body
WHEREAS, the 2040 Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan identifies the former Hillcrest Golf Course as an opportunity site with potential features such as higher-density mixed-use development or employment centers with increased full-time living wage job intensity; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul commenced a master planning process in 2019 to determine the future uses and layout for the site, which has resulted in a Hillcrest Master Plan passed by the City Council in 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Hillcrest Master Plan designates 54 acres for light industrial uses, 25 acres for residential/mixed uses, 5 acres for a City Park, and 15 acres for wetlands, district storm water, and passive open space; and
WHEREAS, the Hillcrest Master Plan land use allocations are estimated to provide for approximately 1,000 jobs and 1,000 households; and
WHEREAS, the Hillcrest Master Plan supports sustainability goals that integrate with the ecology of the site, support responsible material and waste stream management, and pursues effective, integrated, and visible storm water management; and
WHEREAS, the Hillcrest Master Plan noted that some sustainability goals were dependent on the potential availability of securing future funding from external sources, such as the potential for a district-scale ground source energy system; and
WHEREAS community members, advocates, and green energy experts alike have been integral partners to the work which identified a geothermal energy system as a potential solution which meets the sustainability goals of both the 2040 Saint Paul Comprehensive plan and the Hillcrest Mater plan; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Port Authority purchased the Hillcrest Golf Course in 2019 and has been working with the City of Saint Paul and District Energy Saint Paul on pursuing funding for a district geothermal system at The Heights; and
WHEREAS, in 2023 the Minnesota Legislature passed bills that created and funded the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA), a publicly accountable financing authority commonly known in other states as a “green bank”; and
WHEREAS, MnCIFA was established to stimulate the development of clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects by using innovative financing tools to leverage private and public capital to overcome the market barriers that inhibit the financing of these projects; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council expressly provides its support for the application of The Heights Community Energy, Inc. to MnCIFA for the financing of a district geothermal energy system at The Heights and urges MnCIFA to fund this application; and
WHEREAS, The Heights Community Energy, Inc. will be a non-profit working with District Energy Saint Paul and is applying for funding from MnCIFA for a district geothermal system at The Heights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council is supportive of the overall success of The Heights Community Energy Inc for the first and likely largest district geothermal energy system in the State of Minnesota.