News

The Clean Energy Resource Teams are excited to announce the projects awarded Seed Grants in each of the seven Minnesota CERTs regions. Each region awarded $10,000 worth of seed grants, catalyzing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The funding is provided by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.

Finland, Minnesota is on the path to incorporating renewable energy education into the construction of its new community center. With the implementation of geothermal technology, the new community center will serve as an educational model for other initiatives, as well as for the community that utilizes the building.

Who says a small town can’t make a big impact? Milan, a town of 300 in West Central Minnesota, has modeled a program after the University of Delaware’s “Sustainable Energy Utility Model” (SEU). As one participant noted, the program encourages you to “recoup your investment in energy efficiency.

Big things can happen with small-scale renewable energy systems. We caught up with Eric Buchanan at the U of M West Central Research & Outreach Center in Morris to learn more about what these systems have to offer residents and businesses. Joel Haskard: What do you hope to accomplish with this guidebook? Eric Buchanan: About 40% of total energy use in the U.S. is in buildings.

Want to see what happens when a small community in Minnesota rolls up its sleeves and gets to work on clean energy, local foods, and local entrepreneurship? Then head to Silver Bay, Minnesota, population 1,900, nestled along the shores of Lake Superior.

Susan and Mike Edgington, owners of the Adventure Inn in Ely, now provide guests with energy efficient living, including solar-heated water and floors, and provide benefits to the surrounding environment in the form of increased green space to absorb runoff. The Edgingtons also “freecycled” old equipment including toilets, sinks, windows, doors, and furniture.

The BioHaus at Concordia Language Villages (CLV) is one of the first buildings in the US to receive the German Passivhaus certification. It features air-tight insulation, natural lighting, geothermal heating and cooling systems, and solar thermal panels. The goal of the BioHaus is to educate visitors and enhance their personal awareness of how to more positively affect the environment.

The Do It Green! Directory has been promoting Minnesota’s green businesses and organizations online for a decade. With more than 13,000 visitors each month, it’s a great place to let sustainability-minded community members find out who you are and what you can offer them. The Directory is published by Do It Green! Minnesota, a local non-profit organization.

A recent study sponsored by the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Living Cities could result in changes to the energy-efficiency retrofits market. Recognizing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency is a comprehensive effort to quantify the benefits of energy efficiency retrofits in multifamily housing.

A Metro CERT affiliate since 2008, the City of White Bear Lake is committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability, which permeates all facets of its operations.

On July 26th, nearly 60 people gathered at the Saint Paul Central Library for Metro CERT’s Local Government Resource and Networking Event. The goal for the morning was for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant recipients to come together to share stories, best practices and lessons learned from their projects.

On July 26th, 2012, the City of Saint Paul showed how solar energy works in Minnesota with a tour of multiple new solar installations in the downtown area. Joined by members of various local governments in the Metro area and other interested members of the public, Metro CERT learned about three new solar installations at the RiverCentre and Science Museum.

Residents in Saint Paul had the opportunity to learn about the basics of solar energy and the incentives and rebates available for installing solar energy systems at the Metro CERT Solar Works! workshops for Saint Paul East (on June 7th at Battle Creek Recreation Center) and Saint Paul West (on June 13th at the Western Police Station).

Low-income families are often forced to sacrifice energy efficiency and the environmental health of their homes for the sake of a bargain. Not so for five families in Northfield, MN. Thanks to a partnership between several local organizations, five foreclosed homes are being re-envisioned as models of energy efficient, affordable housing.

Aiming to decrease local reliance on non-renewable energy, the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) and Iron Range Resources investigated local communities’ Comprehensive Plans to determine how many of them addressed energy conservation and efficiency initiatives and to what extent action was taken.

Seeking to reduce its carbon footprint by 11% in three years, Rosemount High School was resourceful in utilizing support from local organizations. Rosemount High received guidance and information from Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon (MnSCC) and the Minnesota Energy Challenge, and funding from MnSCC, Metro CERT, and Dakota County Safe Streets for various aspects of the project.

Here’s an equation for energy efficiency: ($300 × 3 high schools) + 92 youth = solar success.