News

Want to save energy in your multifamily building but need some tools and support? Look no further! EnergyScoreCards Minnesota is a two-year effort to implement energy benchmarking and monitoring at hundreds of multifamily buildings in Minnesota.

Local Government PBEEEP is a program offered through the Department Of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. PBEEEP, which stands for Public Buildings Enhanced Energy Efficiency Program, addresses energy efficiency in public buildings across Minnesota through a targeted recommissioning/ retrocommissioning (RCx) and retrofit project focus.

States and communities are increasingly investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy to achieve their air quality, economic, and energy goals. In doing so, they have found that the up-front costs of improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy generation can be a barrier for many homeowners, building owners, and businesses.

The Wellstone Apartment’s solar hot water system is exceeding expectations in Minneapolis. It was installed with help from the Minnesota Solar Hot Water Rebate Program, and was originally supposed to supply half of the building’s hot water but currently serves 60% of the resident’s hot water needs.

I originally posted this on my blog during a community-based social marketing training on November 2, 2011.

For the last two days, I’ve attended Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s (DMM) Introductory Workshop on Community-Based Social Marketing. DMM went through the process of behavior identification and delineation; barrier and benefit analysis; tools to overcome those barriers; and pilot structures.

This Midwest Energy News article was originally posted by on January 6, 2012 by Dan Haugen. After a slow spring and summer, Dan Williams was busy this fall. The solar installer climbed rooftops across the Twin Cities in response to demand from a new made-in-Minnesota solar PV rebate. Williams is vice president of Powerfully Green, a solar installation company based in Champlin, Minnesota.

Wes Schultz is a professor at California State University – San Marcos, and is one of the leading American researcher around community-based social marketing, in an article he has prepared for Conservation Biology (to be published in 2012), that he shared with me, he hits home what I consider are the most powerful and useful takeaways from this field so far.

This information was originally part of a Midwest Energy News article by Dan Haugen on November 7, 2011. His reflection on the Institute on the Environment’s E3 (Energy, Economy and Environment) conference at the University of Minnesota follows.

Heating the Midwest (HTM), a newly-formed biomass thermal advocacy group, announced its official structure, mission and intent. The group represents industry, government, non-profit, university and tribal organizations that have a vested interest in growing awareness and usage of woody and agricultural biomass (i.e.

The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) is now inviting businesses to apply for their intern program. Each summer, the program hires and places highly qualified students in manufacturing or healthcare facilities to develop solutions for waste and energy problems.

This Midwest Energy News report was originally posted by on October 21, 2011 by Ken Paulman.

Three Midwest states are among the most-improved in this year’s rankings from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, while Minnesota leads the region.

Seventeen Minnesota community and technical college instructors recently took part in train-the-trainer sessions on Windustry’s new Small Wind Energy Systems Curriculum and are now prepared to offer courses on the subject.

The six-credit course material was produced by Windustry and written by experts, with support from the MN Office of Energy Security.

This article, written by Stacie Kimball, originally appeared in the Alexandria Echo Press.

The new District 206 high school in Alexandria will be energy efficient due to a decision made at the most recent school board meeting. At the meeting held on Monday, November 21, the District 206 School Board voted unanimously to pursue LEED certification for the high school project.

This article, by Brian Ojanpa, originally appeared in the Mankato Free Press.

A Mankato-area renewable energy advocacy group is looking to harness the wind, albeit on a modest scale.

This Brainerd Dispatch article, Tapping Wastewater: Probing Hidden Depths for Energy, by staff writer Renee Richardson, was originally posted on May 17, 2011.

A Brainerd research partnership may have far-reaching implications regarding energy and the economy—and it comes from a steady source that’s largely untapped. The source could be surprising.

This article, by By Thomas Content, originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Midwest can seize an advantage when it comes to developing homegrown energy on the farm, a new report says.

Minnesota got some bright news this month when the U.S. Department of Energy announced the recipients of its Sunshot Initiative Rooftop Solar Challenge. The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources (DER) was awarded more than $263,000 to help make solar installation faster and less expensive for small businesses and homeowners. Working with the City of St.