News

Students and staff at Winona Senior High School took environmental education to a new level with their determination to implement solar panels that would provide hands-on educational opportunities.

What began as a daunting project three years ago has recently produced successful results. In 2009 the armory in Park Rapids, MN was unusable and considered a threat to the environmental health of the city and its inhabitants. Today it acts as a model for energy efficient technologies and responsible community development.

Happy campers abound now that a solar hot water system has been constructed on the roof of Recreation Park’s new shower house in Grand Marais! Don Grant, a leader of the project explains: “The panels have eliminated complaints about losing hot water in the bathhouse. In the past, complaints were common during the 4th of July and the local Fisherman’s Picnic (festival) weekends.

Churches across Minnesota and the country are looking at ways to reduce their energy costs while at the same time enhancing the comfort and safety of their buildings.

The benefits of Milan’s SEU program are beginning to get noticed, and their energy efficiency initiative continues to grow! With the help of West Central CERT grants, Milan has implemented energy efficiency plans that not only reduce energy consumption, but also reduce residents’ energy bills.

The future looks bright for Two Harbors High School students! The installation of solar panels has created a unique educational opportunity for both students and the local community as solar energy is implemented in science and math curricula across the school. Enthusiasm for this project came more from educational purposes than from measurable, energy-saving potential.

This summer’s heat has gotten a lot of us thinking about air conditioning – and how much it costs! Especially for local units of government and schools on ever tighter budgets, reining in these energy costs can make a big difference.

The Clean Energy Resource Teams want to help your community kickstart a clean energy project, and we’ve extended our application deadline to August 6th, 2012. Each of the seven CERT regional teams are looking to seed innovative, community-based clean energy projects, and yours could be a good fit.

Minnesotans can now participate in a group purchasing program to reduce the cost and uncertainties of going solar. The goal of the program is to reduce the implementation barriers often presented to home and business owners looking into renewable energy systems.

We recently caught up with Jerry Loney, the energy management specialist with North Itasca Electric Cooperative based in Bigfork, MN. Jerry has come up with an innovative residential lighting program partnering with Great River Energy, a local hardware store, and three area food shelves.

Businesses in the White Bear Lake area 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! for Businesses workshop held on Wednesday May 23rd at Washington Square Bar and Grill in White Bear Lake, MN.

The new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) have recently been rolling out here in Minnesota. We caught up with early adopter Stuart Rauvola of Stillwater, MN to learn more about his experiences.

When we moved into our house several years ago there was an old wooden dock leaning up against the garage. This summer we decided to pull it out and see if we could get it in the pond across the street. After a little cleaning up, repair and attaching of floats, it was ready to go in the water.

The Clean Energy Resource Teams are currently looking for an organizer to work with our Metro team at Eureka Recycling—this is a great opportunity to work with communities to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy in the Twin Cities and the eleven-county metro area! See the details below.

There are currently two open opportunities with the Youth Energy Summit (YES!), a program that empowers youth to partner with their community to create economic and environmental vitality through hands-on learning and team-based projects related to renewable energy and energy conservation. You can respond to one or both of them.

We recently got together with John Marshall, manager of Community & Local Government Relations with Xcel Energy, to learn more about the Energy Innovation Corridor. Joel Haskard: Can you tell us a little about the Energy Innovation Corridor? John Marshall: There’s so much to tell about the Energy Innovation Corridor (EIC). But I’ll give it a whirl.

Members of the not-for-profit Minnesota Building Performance Association (MBPA) are leading experts working to ensure your home is safe, healthy, comfortable and efficient. We caught up with Becky Olson, president of MBPA, to find out more. Joel Haskard: Tell us a little bit about the Minnesota Building Performance Association.