Duluth, MN’s Lincoln Park neighborhood is home to over 6000 residents. It includes the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, the coal docks, the port, and numerous industrial operations. While Lincoln Park is historic, the area has long lacked commercial and residential investment.

Ecolibrium3 is working to change that. As a community organization, it’s dedicated to sustainably revitalizing Duluth’s low-income Lincoln Park neighborhood. Their many projects include the AmeriCorps Legacy House Project, which restores condemned buildings to create affordable homes, and the Eco3 Urban Farm, a two-acre site devoted to perennial fruit, flower gardens, raised beds, and developed fields.

Ecolibrium also strives to help its community with energy costs, which can be especially hard on the area’s veterans and low-income families. This mission paved the way for a solar mount installation that’s delivering a real impact.

Lincoln Park’s new solar garden includes a series of multi-pole MT Solar mounts supporting arrays 12 feet over the park’s northeastern entrance. After two years of development, outstanding fundraising efforts, and community-spanning collaboration, the Lincoln Park solar garden is an example of how sustainable revitalization can pay powerful dividends.

To kick off the solar garden’s development, Ecolibrium3 reached out to community members, local stakeholders, and project contributors to define the project’s specifics. The City of Duluth contributed by acquiring land. Funding was partially acquired through Minnesota Power’s Low-Income Solar Program and contributions from local foundations, businesses, and design competitions and initiatives. With enthused collaboration, engagement, and $240,000 in total fundraising, the Lincoln Park Solar Garden advanced from a concept to a ready-to-break-ground plan.

Along with other local contractors, Ecolibrium3 chose Two Harbors, MN solar contractor, Wolf Track Energy, to take on the installation. Starting in August 2020, Wolf Track Energy completed the pole setting and foundations, assembly, and wiring in under a month. The project also included erosion control and stormwater management measures. By early October, all mounts and arrays were actively feeding the Minnesota Power Grid and generating returns for the neighborhood.

Shortly after the solar garden became operational, Ecolibrium3 celebrated with an on-site and virtual gathering, where attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the new sustainable power capabilities while enjoying the park.

During its first full year, the Lincoln Park Solar Garden produced 5892 megawatt hours of energy, delivering an ROI of nearly $6000 and enough power for nearly seven households. The funds were distributed to the Duluth Veterans Place and the Eco3 Energy Fund. Beyond the financial benefits, the solar garden prevented nearly 89,500 pounds of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to planting almost 700 trees.

2022 delivered over 53,000 kWh, enough energy to charge more than 635 cars with a standard 50kW rapid EV charger. From the solar park’s total of $4600 of energy returns for the year, $1300 was given to the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MAC-V) to fund efforts to end veteran homelessness in Duluth. The remaining $3300 funds were contributed to the Eco3 Energy Fund to help with local residential efficiency improvements.

Ecolibrium3 continues to make the most of the solar garden with seasonal adjustments. A simple change in tilt boosts the output of each mount, which is critical for a system that has such an impact on the community. During Minnesota’s colder seasons, adjusting the mounts to a steeper angle also keeps snow from accumulating on the modules and hindering productivity.

MT Solar is proud that its top-of-pole solar system was chosen for this community solar project. We’re exceedingly pleased to see how much of a positive impact it’s making for the people of Lincoln Park and we hope the success of this solar garden will inspire more communities to adopt locally-led, sustainability-driven projects like this one.