News

On March 1st, 41 people gathered at the League of Minnesota Cities to learn more about the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program. Attendees participated in small group discussions about specific best practice actions and got a primer on using the B3 Benchmarking energy management system.

A great article by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Colorado-based independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank, summarizes some of the innovations at the South by Southwest Interactive event. I’ve mentioned “gamification” before, but his article really brings some concepts home and offers a great example of how gamification can be applied to transportation.

The First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis recently won the EPA ENERGY STAR Battle of the Buildings competition in the House of Worship category, competing against 245 other buildings to reduce their energy use. The congregation has saved over $16,000 in the first year almost entirely from no-cost and low-cost opportunities.

Among the shiny new cars and trucks on display at the recent 2012 Twin Cities Auto Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center was a new exhibit, the Biodiesel Green Room.

Over the last couple of years, Minnesota Power has been compiling several energy efficiency success stories under the headings Learn & Earn and Save & Benefit, and we’re taking this opportunity to share them! Read below to learn more about these exciting projects.

Many places in Minnesota have found a way to extend the warm growing season into the colder winter months. This isn’t that surprising, greenhouses have been around, by some accounts, since the time of the Roman Emperors, and their objective remains the same: providing fresh, local produce for people to enjoy at any time of the year.

Drive Electric Minnesota is a partnership of local and state government, our largest utility, private business and nonprofit entities working in collaboration to bring electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in charging infrastructure to Minnesota. We spoke with Fran Crotty at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to learn more. Joel Haskard: Tell us a little bit about Drive Electric Minnesota.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is now accepting applications for organizations interested in participating as a Host Site for the 2012-2013 year of the Minnesota GreenCorps program.

Based in Browerville, Minnesota, Snowy Pines Reforestation is a family-owned and operated business with the mission “to create meaningful, rewarding work for our family and friends that improves the natural environment.” Greg Nolan and his family manage a 40-acre forest and have planted over three million trees. They specialize in tree planting, salvage logging, and wood flooring.

A Minnesota-based film production company documented twelve businesses on main street in Slayton, Minnesota as they retrofitted or replaced their current lighting through Xcel Energy’s One-Stop Efficiency Shop program.

Brian Ross, a Minneapolis resident and urban planner who was an early adopter of solar energy, says the reward of solar for his family is that it provides free, clean energy that they can use to power their home, independent of uncertain oil and gas prices.

My wife and I bought the New Horizon Resort & Lodge in the spring of 2003. We realized when we bought the resort that the buildings were old and needed a lot of work. The Lodge/Restaurant building was built in 1919, the cabins were added from the late 1930s to the 1950s.

The Minnesota Retiree Environmental Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) employs skilled, retired professionals to provide environmental facility assessments and community sustainability assistance to Minnesota’s businesses, institutions, and communities. Services are provided at no cost to clients.