Southeast Case Studies
In 2005, students in Winona Senior High School’s environmental club were eager to start a project at their school that would be good for the environment, as well as fun and educational. They were tired of simply talking about cool technologies like wind and solar power and wanted to take action.
As residents of the Midwest know, the growing season is painfully short. When it’s twenty below, what else can you do besides go to the supermarket and buy tomatoes shipped from thousands of miles away? Whitewater Farms in Altura, Minnesota has found a solution. The farm, owned and operated by Sandy and Lonny Dietz, contains a geothermal greenhouse...
It’s difficult to get teenagers to clean their room, much less take on a project, but that’s just what the students at Northfield School of Arts and Technology (ARTech) did. ARTech is a charter school in Northfield, Minnesota, comprised of talented students in grades 6-12. The first time the school received a grant from the SE CERTs, it was for an...
Norm and Mary Erickson of Hazelnut Valley Farm retired and started a hazelnut farm in Lake City, MN. Their nutty adventures into the business of growing, harvesting, and processing the crop led them to install a solar-heated greenhouse with many innovative features. They look forward to a future where hazelnuts can be profitably converted into...
With a vast agricultural industry and resources spread over fields and acres, how do you measure the true renewable energy resources of Minnesota? The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute and partners in Southern MN have been working on populating a template to capture the renewable energy potential of their communities.
Dairy farmers are an industrious group by nature, and farmer and entrepreneur Peter Reese of Goodhue County has eyes for common sense and untapped opportunities. The basic concept of Perpetual Harvest, LLC, came from Peter’s thoughts about how our economy is under-utilizing available and renewable local resources.
Tim Terrill from the Winona Soil & Water Conservation District Organization said he saw “an excellent example of how conservation and farming can work together to achieve environmental and economic benefits,” when he partnered with Eric Kreidermacher of Pork and Plants and Professor Bruno Borsari from Winona State University.
Many of Habitat for Humanity’s homes are built with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind to provide a healthy environment and lower energy bills. When the completion of a home nears, a homeowner’s orientation is given. To make sure homeowners actually save energy, Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota developed a special introduction.
Greg Loek and Kathy Rice started exploring energy use in their home, and began with some low-hanging fruit, like energy conservation. Before they knew it, they were installing a ground-source heat pump and a solar PV system! This is the story of their clean energy journey.
Imagine the Minnesota State Fair’s agriculture building with delicious, candy red apples, amazing corn art, and great exhibits with engaging people. Now condense the event into a single day focused exclusively on sustainability. What do you get? The Olmsted County Think Green Fair!
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Clean Energy Resource Teams