Sabathani Community Center’s Community Energy Project: Building Resilience, Equity, and a Greener Future
Welcome to Sabathani Community Center’s Community Energy Project, a transformative initiative aimed at creating a resilient, equitable, and sustainable South Minneapolis. We believe in harnessing the power of community to address climate change, systemic inequalities, and poverty simultaneously. Join us on this journey towards a cleaner, greener, and more just future.
Our Vision: Environmental Justice, Resilience, and Racial Equity
In the face of climate-related emergencies, power outages, and natural disasters, our South Minneapolis community deserves a trusted haven. The Community Energy Project is a vital part of the broader 38th Street THRIVE Strategic Development Plan for the City of Minneapolis. It embodies our commitment to:
- Resilience Hub: Establishing Sabathani as a Resilience Hub for the neighborhood, serving as a beacon of hope and support during times of crisis.
- Energy Efficiency: Renovating Sabathani’s physical building to become energy-efficient by replacing our outdated heating and cooling system with a renewable energy geothermal system. This eco-friendly upgrade reduces operating costs and pollution in our community.
- Workforce Development: Providing a living laboratory and training center for geothermal and solar workforce training, ensuring job placement and empowering our community through green employment opportunities.
- Microgrid Technology: Implementing microgrid technology and battery backup storage, enabling Sabathani and its critical community services to remain operational to remain operational even during extended power outages.
Project Overview
Explore our project’s journey through this slideshow, providing an overview of our objectives, timeline, key steps, dedicated teams, and invaluable partners.
Addressing Systemic Inequalities
Our mission extends beyond environmental objectives; it’s about social justice. We are actively:
- Fighting Climate Change: By transitioning from 57-year-old polluting, fossil-fuel boilers to a geothermal HVAC system, we are taking tangible steps to reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change.
- Resilience Hub for Equity: We are building a resilience hub in a community of color, addressing systemic inequalities and creating a blueprint for how climate and racial justice can go hand in hand.
- Green Job Opportunities: Our project turns Sabathani into an energy producer and a center for green job training, creating economic opportunities that uplift our community.
- Worst to First: We’re determined to transform our building from a zero Energy Star Rating to a symbol of environmental excellence, moving from worst to first in our energy-efficiency score.
Join Our Journey
Sabathani Community Center’s Community Energy Project tells the story of hope, resilience, and progress. By supporting us, you’re not only investing in a cleaner, greener future but also in a community that refuses to accept systemic inequalities.
How You Can Help
Our funding proposal is currently under review in the Minnesota state legislature. Make your voice heard! Contact your legislators and express your support for Sabathani’s Community Energy Project.
Links to legislators:
Thank you for joining us on this transformative journey toward a more equitable, resilient, and climate-just South Minneapolis. Together, we can build a brighter future for all.