Eau Claire recognized for solar energy advancement efforts

The city of Eau Claire was recognized as a national leader in advancing solar energy this afternoon.

People gathered at Chippewa Valley Technical College to celebrate as SolSmart, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, awarded Eau Claire gold designation.

The award recognizes the city for adopting practices that make it faster, easier, and cheaper to go solar.

"The award is really, it recognizes the great accomplishments from those that have contributed to build up the solar community, the marketplace here, but it also lays the groundwork to move forward, says Ned Noel, associate city planner with City of Eau Claire. “Together we've been able accomplish this gold award to so that solar is more cost effective and easier to install in the community."

A SolSmart designation is a signal that the community is "open for solar business," helping to attract solar industry investment and generate economic development and local jobs.