Join Minnesota Design Team (MDT) for their annual retreat!
When: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8:30 am–2:00 pm.
Where: ADM Room in Mill City Museum (710 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401)
Upon arrival you should enter the 710 entry doors and take an elevator up to the 6th floor
Click here for parking and directions.
FREE
Join us for a day of exploring the nuances of renewable energy production and its relationships with rural communities. This year the MDT retreat will focus on solar energy production, examining it from commercial/industrial, through community solar garden, to utility scale production.
The challenge of addressing greenhouse gas emissions to meet societal climate change goals relies heavily on adoption of renewable energy technologies. Yet widespread implementation invariably results in challenges for the communities that host these technologies. Changes in visual character can have major impacts on experiential expectations, especially in the rural landscape when the scale of change can range from tens to many hundreds of acres – as a result of solar energy development. On the other hand, development at these scales offers economic development, an increasing tax base, and new forms of high-wage employment for communities facing economic stress.
We will be introduced to the social and policy demands behind renewable energy development, the physical requirements that drive siting decisions for that development, and the community expectations that are often at odds with these decisions. Afterward, in group exercises, we will explore ways that planning and design can be brought to bear in helping rural communities manage their changing landscapes and embrace the opportunities that solar energy can bring.
Breakfast and lunch are included! Please email Ann Mayhew with dietary restrictions by February 7.
If you previously registered for the previous January retreat that was canceled, and are planning on attending this February retreat, please re-register so we have an accurate count.
