Ten million dollars can buy you 10 million tacos for a dollar each, or maybe you’d prefer to buy one gargantuan $10 million taco. Either way, the Department of Energy (DOE) has opted not to buy any tacos with their $10 million and instead bought a five-year contract with the International City-County Management Association (ICMA), and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives-Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) to help accelerate the adoption of solar energy by local governments across the United States.

Receiving roughly $5 million each, the ICMA and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability hope to use their five year deal to promote solar energy to solar-friendly cities through a series of educational workshops, peer-to-peer sharing opportunities, and national web-based resources. The idea is to help local governments overcome the obstacles of implementing solar technology by sharing the knowledge and expertise the ICMA and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability have acquired through their many other DOE-sponsored activities.

Through collaborative outreach strategies, DOE aims to empower cities across the nation to broadly integrate solar energy into their communities. The ICMA plans to provide publications, data, information, technical assistance, and training to thousands of city, town, and county experts.

The ICMA will partner with the American Planning Association (APA) and the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) under this award to deliver information on solar technologies to their thousands of local government members as well as local communities across the country.