Dane County Becomes 1st County in the United States to Receive “SolSmart Platinum” Designation for Solar Energy Leadership
April 15, 2024
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823
County Executive
Dane County, Wisconsin is the first county in the nation to receive a Platinum designation from the national SolSmart program to recognize its national leadership in encouraging the growth of clean, affordable solar energy at the local level.
As a SolSmart Platinum designee, Dane County has demonstrated exceptional achievements in building a solar-friendly community. Dane County worked with SolSmart's no-cost technical assistance team to adopt nationally recognized best practices that advance solar market growth.
“Dane County is delighted to be recognized as SolSmart Platinum. This designation reflects our strong commitment to expanding everyone’s access to clean energy and I am hopeful our achievement will inspire more municipalities and counties to pursue SolSmart designations,” said County Executive Joe Parisi. Under Parisi’s leadership, Dane County became the first county in Wisconsin to achieve 100% renewable offset electricity in 2023.
Dane County's journey to the SolSmart Platinum designation was a collaborative effort, with four local municipalities—the Villages of McFarland and Mount Horeb and the Cities of Middleton and Sun Prairie—joining forces with the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change and the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC). Together, these local governments are implementing a range of initiatives to simplify the process of installing solar arrays, demonstrating a shared commitment to clean energy.
The Platinum designation also requires Dane County to post metrics on the quantity of solar installed in the County. The Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change website features a solar page that details solar installations in multiple Dane County municipalities and summarizes the local utility-scale installations. See https://daneclimateaction.org/Initiatives/Solar-Energy-Resources/Solar-in-My-Community/Solar-Resource-Energy-In-and-For-Dane-County for details on local solar installations.
Local governments achieve SolSmart designation by meeting established criteria that are based on national best practices for building solar-friendly communities. The SolSmart team of experts offers no-cost technical assistance and resources to help communities put these practices into action. Those that meet the criteria are designated SolSmart Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze.
SolSmart is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Since the program launched in 2016, over 500 cities, towns, counties, and regional organizations have achieved SolSmart designation.
SolSmart designees are now in 43 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Any city, town, county, and regional organization is eligible to join the program. Interested communities can learn more at SolSmart.org.