Pictured: Sen. Izaah Knox cuts the ribbon at Urban Dreams for new solar installation surrounded by community partners and stakeholders. Photo credit: Natalie Mahoney
Board members of the Polk Clean Energy District were on hand to celebrate the installation of new solar panels at Urban Dreams, a Des Moines non-profit focused on equal opportunities for underserved and underrepresented people.
The solar installation, created with help from the Grow Solar Polk County program and a $20,000 donation from the Nature Conservancy in Iowa, is expected to save more than $3,200 a year. The Grow Solar Polk County program, between 2022 and 2023, produced 583.63 kilowatts of solar power and led to $1,624,802 in local investments throughout the county. The initiative, which has reached more than 500 local residents, emphasized solar education and volume purchasing to make solar more affordable for businesses and homeowners. The solar systems, installed through the two years of the program, will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1,094,220 pounds of carbon dioxide every year, according to the press release. Ankeny-based 1 Source Solar was the solar installer for the program.