Updated: 3/28/2008 9:54:41 PM
The city of Knoxville is one of a dozen cities nationwide receiving federal money to boost solar power use.
It was selected as a Solar America City by the Department of Energy.
The designation means a $200,000 grant plus technical assistance.
The Tennessee Valley authority plans to chip in an additional $100,000 over the course of the two-year project.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, TVA, the Knoxville Utilities Board, the Public Building Authority, Ijams Nature Center, Knoxville Area Transit and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development are all partners in the project.
The grant came about as a result of the work of the Energy and Sustainability Task Force, chaired by Policy and Communications Deputy Director Madeleine Weil.
Knoxville plans to use the grant to reduce barriers to solar deployment in informational, technical, financial, and business development areas.
