Missoula To Go Carbon Neutral by 2025

The city of Missoula will hire a local firm to help it go green by turning to solar energy, moving the Garden City closer to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.

On a unanimous vote, the City Council’s Administration and Finance Committee this week approved a $14,280 contract with Solar Plexus. The local company will create a “solar roadmap” to expand the city’s use of clean energy as it powers its municipal operations.

“The goal is to inform the city on the most cost-effective path to maximize solar generation on city buildings,” said Chase Jones, the city’s energy conservation coordinator. “It allows us to reduce our energy consumption, which in turn reduces the cost of purchased electricity in city operations.”

The roadmap will include a site assessment of 14 municipal facilities, including City Hall, Splash Montana and each of the five fire stations. It will also rank the proposed sites and help identify grants and other funding opportunities.

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