Clean Energy Resource Teams

 
A programmable thermostat allows you to pre-set your home’s heating and cooling system to work around your schedule, providing ultimate comfort for your household. It also helps you ensure efficient operation of your heating and cooling system, resulting in real energy saving and lower energy bills.

CERTs and Honeywell are teaming up to offer an exclusive rebate for programmable thermostats. “Come Home to Comfort and Energy Savings” by participating in the Programmable Thermostat Exclusive Rebate Program.

Programmable thermostats can save an Upper Midwest home about $200 a year in heating and cooling costs. CERTs and Honeywell are teaming up to offer an exclusive rebate for up to $10 back on a new Do-It-Yourself programmable thermostat.

There are two ways for you to get a rebate for $10 off a Honeywell Do-It-Yourself programmable thermostat valued at $50 or more (or $5 off models valued less than $50):

1. Visit the campaign webpage to print off your rebate: http://thermostat.mncerts.org
2. Send an email with your full address to CERTs Campaign Coordinator, Michelle Vigen, at rebates@cleanenergyresourceteams.org .

“We’re really excited that Upper Midwest residents have this opportunity to increase their home comfort, save energy, and lower their energy bills with a new Honeywell programmable thermostat,” said Michelle Vigen, CERTs Campaign & Metrics Coordinator. “It’s an easy and convenient way to save money.”

The average household in Upper Midwest that sets back their thermostat in the summer and winter using default settings could save around 15% on heating and 25% on cooling costs, saving around $200 annually.

When asked about programmable thermostats, Joshua Davis, Home Energy Squad Manager with the Neighborhood Energy Connection, had this to say: “These are the biggest energy savers we install. It can save a lot of money on your heat and cooling bill, and makes your home more comfortable.”

Jason Carlson, a homeowner in McIntosh, MN, installed a programmable thermostat in his home in 2006. “We have saved over $200 a year on heating and cooling bills since we installed our programmable thermostat,” says Carlson. “It’s so nice how it automatically adjusts the temperature in our home so that it’s comfortable when we wake up or come home at the end of the day, and helps us save energy while we’re sleeping and at work.”

Programmable thermostats are an easy way for homeowners to begin taking action. Honeywell’s Do-It-Yourself programmable thermostats are specially designed to install in less than 15 minutes and in four simple steps. “We have a programmable thermostat in our house and it’s great!” said Erika Bailey-Johnson of Bemidji, MN. “It’s very easy to program, and you can set up different temperatures for weekends/weekdays and days/nights.” Well-labeled buttons and touch screens allow for straightforward interaction and programming.

To learn more about the CERTs and Honeywell Exclusive Rebate Program and how you can save energy, visit http://thermostat.mncerts.org or email rebate@cleanenergyresourceteams.org.

Spread the word! This is a great opportunity for anyone in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota who owns a home. Download our program announcement for the basics to share, or click here to find out about more you can do to help us spread the word.

CERTs TV

is a new resource where you can view CERTs video clips and news sightings, as well as informative videos and full documentaries produced by CERTs partners! Click here to watch now >>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 24 – USDA Rural Development State Director Colleen Landkamer recently announced that 18 farms and small businesses in rural Minnesota have been selected to receive over $1.7 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement projects under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

“This funding helps our farmers and rural small businesses become more efficient and competitive,” Landkamer said. “The road to energy independence goes through America’s farms and rural communities. President Obama and his Administration are committed to helping our nation increase its use of renewable energy and become more energy efficient.”

 
In 2007 a screen printing class at the University of Minnesota created an amazing set of posters focused on community clean energy and energy efficiency. We gave them out to lucky folks all over Minnesota over the last couple years, and now we’ve put them up on Flickr for the whole world to enjoy!

Click here to see a collection of our favorite custom-printed CERTs posters >>

 
“Going green” sounds good, but what can cities and counties really do in tight budget times? With a new program called Minnesota GreenStep Cities, we can build thriving, healthy, and prosperous communities without breaking the bank!

Community members and local government officials met in Grand Rapids, MN July 29th to learn about how this free, voluntary program can be a tool for making citizens’ vision for the future a reality. Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and the Grand Rapids Wes Libbey Chapter of the Izaak Walton League co-hosted the event at Grand Rapids Area Library which was attended by local elected officials, community groups, and local citizens, including folks from Grand Rapids, LaPrairie, Bemidji, Virginia, Duluth, Rochester, and even Tennessee!

View photos from the event:

The event included the following presentations:

• Introduction – Art Norton, Grand Rapids Wes Libbey, Chapter of the Izaak Walton League
• GreenStep Cities Overview – Philipp Muessig, MN Pollution Control Agency (www.mngreenstep.org)
• Two Paths, One Choice – Bill Mittlefehldt, Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs)
• Storm Water Update – Tom Pagel and Steve Anderson, City of Grand Rapids
• Conservation Improvement – Dan Chase, Grand Rapids Public Program Utilities Commission
• Power of One Conservation Program – Tim Gallagher, Minnesota Power
• Collaborating for the Future – Michelle Schroeder, Izaak Walton League, Minnesota Division

Northeast CERT Coordinator Bill Mittlefehldt cited several examples of folks already taking action in communities across the Northeast! Tom Pagel, Steve Anderson, Dan Chase, and Tim Gallagher gave examples of actions that Grand Rapids is taking, such as rain gardens that reduce and clean stormwater while adding beatuy.

Lakeland Public Television’s Jenny Day covered the GreenStep Cities seminars on the evening news:

Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a challenge, assistance, and recognition program to help cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementation of 28 best practices. Minnesota GreenStep Cities can help cities of all sizes. Minnesota GreenStep Cities allows you to get recognition for the work you’re already doing and offers free advice and tools for the areas where you need help! As Minnesota GreenStep Coordinator Philipp Muessig and Michelle Schroeder of the Izaak Walton League explained, “We’ve done the research to save you time and money!”

Minnesota GreenStep Cities offers 28 best practices, along 5 categories: Buildings and Lighting, Land Use, Transportation, Environmental Management, and Economic and Community Development. Best practices focus on cost savings and energy use reduction, and encourage innovation.

The new Minnesota GreenStep Cities website outlines each of the best practices and includes actions you can take now, plus at-a-glance costs and benefits and the phone number for a GreenStep Advisor who can help you.

Visit http://www.mngreenstep.org to learn how Minnesota GreenStep Cities can help your community thrive and prosper!

Watch a video to learn more about GreenStep Cities:

 
The folks at the West Central Research Outreach Center (WCROC) decided to throw a party recently in honor of their new green building dedication! The celebration took the form of a renewable energy road trip to showcase the great work that the folks at WCROC, University of Minnesota-Morris, local community members, and private companies in the area are doing to create a clean energy future.

The bus tour began in WCROC’s backyard. Upon arriving we received a brief overview of the work WCROC does, including: renewable energy, dairy and crop research, environmental horticulture, soil and water quality, participation in the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, and operating as a University of Minnesota Extension Regional Center.

The WCROC building itself serves as a pilot project by utilizing two different solar systems to provide data to researchers, supply energy to the building, and act as a model for the community. The first system uses Minnesota-based Solar Skies flat plate collectors to heat domestic hot water. The Solar Skies system is currently being evaluated to look at output, cost savings, and payback. The Solar Skies hot water system works in two ways: (1) on cool and warm days the water flows directly into the water heater, bypassing the backup heater as the temperature is hot enough from the solar alone; (2) on really cold days the solar-heated water enters the building and is used to preheat the water in the hot water storage, which is then heated up to the desired temperature by the water heater.

The second solar system at WCROC is a solar heating and cooling system for the building’s new additions. The system uses 1,200 evacuated tubes to provide heated water to the fan coils that heat the building. In addition, the system utilizes an absorption chiller to turn the hot water into cool water to be used for air conditioning. As with the Solar Skies system, data is continuously being evaluated and tracked for research and educational purposes. The building uses a geothermal heat pump to supplement the solar system when needed.

A short bus ride later we stopped on the outskirts of a corn field to learn about the WCROC’s 1.65 MW Vesta wind turbine. The wind turbine stands tall at 230 feet with the rotors reaching out an additional 135 feet. The turbine supplies around 60% of the University of Minnesota Morris’ electricity needs via a direct line to the campus. The average wind speed at Morris is 17.5 mph, providing ample wind to produce energy. The turbine blades weren’t moving when we first arrived, but by the time we were leaving a slight breeze had everyone craning their necks to the sky to see the rotors spinning.

The turbine not only provides energy for UMM students, teachers, and faculty, but also supplies power to WCROC’s Wind to Hydrogen to Ammonia Plant. The plant began as a pilot project to store Hydrogen that could be used to provide fuel for a generator to produce energy during peak times or as needed. After the initial success in storing the wind energy via hydrogen, WCROC began looking for additional value added products. Because of its location in farming country, WCROC decided to invest in a pilot program designed to meet their unique needs. The next phase of the project was to create wind-powered nitrogen fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia (NH3), a fertilizer which is often applied to crops to increase yield. The pilot added a nitrogen generator, again powered by the wind, which separate Nitrogen gas (N2) from the ambient air. The next step is to combine the H and N2 in a reactor to produce NH3 fertilizer. The fertilizer can then be sold to local farmers for application on their fields. Excess H is stored and provides energy through a 60 kW generator. The pilot project will look at the economic feasibility of the pilot, ability to scale up, and a life cycle analysis of the production methods.

The next leg of the tour took us down a small hill and across the river separating the WCROC wind turbine and the UMM campus. Arriving at the campus we proceeded to the UMM Biomass Gasification System. The biomass gasification system is a partnership between UMM and WCROC to develop locally-produced energy and to develop an additional market for local farmers. The facility takes biomass—normally from corn, but they are experimenting with other biomass products to test their effectiveness—and heat the biomass through a process which uses very little oxygen. The lack of oxygen prevents combustion and turns the biomass into a synthesis gas. The synthesis gas is easily transported to a turbine where it is combusted and diverted to various streams. The waste heat is used to generate steam for district heating, the heated water is diverted to an absorption chiller for cooling, and electricity produced by the turbine is used on campus. The project is estimated to save around $400,000 per year! UMM expects to power its campus almost entirely by renewable energy through the biomass plant and wind turbine in the coming years.

The last stop for the day was Grant County Wind Farm, LLC. No matter how many times I see a wind farm, it always brings a smile to my face as I think about the possibilities going forward into the future. And if the single turbine at WCROC was impressive, the stop at Grant County was incredible. The eight Suzlon towers stand at 259 feet; the total height from tip to the ground is 407 feet. From the ground to the top it’s a long way up! The blades were manufactured in Suzlon’s manufacturing facility in Canby, MN.

The turbines were producing energy as we watched them, and are expected to create enough energy to supply 3,100 homes with clean electricity in an average year. These numbers are based on the assumption that the homes use electricity for their general use and for heating—with baseboard heaters, for instance. In addition to providing clean energy, the Grant Country Wind Farm is owned by local community members, a partnership made possible through its classification as a Community Based Energy Development (C-BED) project. The wind farm, and all of those like it in Minnesota, also keep people in good jobs; an engineer was working on the top of one of the turbines doing routine maintenance while we watched from 300 feet below.

After a very exciting day, we started our way back to the hotel for the night. The first day of the bus tour was a resounding success. Most of the chatter between folks revolved around the great work the folks in West Central Minnesota are not just thinking about doing, but actually implementing in their communities.

 
The Office of Energy Security just released its most recent installment of current funding opportunities in the fields of energy and environment. Check out the opportunities now at http://funding.mncerts.org

But wait! Before you delve deep into that document, CERTs wants to bring your attention to four Minnesota-specific funding opportunities that expire soon:

• MN Office of Energy Security Renewable Energy for MN Schools and Local Governments: The Minnesota Department of Commerce Office of Energy Security (OES) requests proposals from Minnesota school districts and local governments for the Local Government Renewable Energy Grant Program funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and authorized by Laws of Minnesota 2009, Chapter 138, Article 3, Section 5. Grants will be awarded competitively to eligible school districts and local governments for the following technologies and amounts: (1) Solar electric projects greater than or equal to 100 kilowatts rated capacity—the lesser of 40 percent of total project cost or $200,000; (2) Solar electric projects less than 100 kilowatts rated capacity—the lesser of 40 percent of total project cost or $100,000; (3) Wind projects less than 35 kilowatts rated capacity—the lesser of 35 percent of total project cost or $25,000; (4) Geothermal heating and cooling projects—the lesser of 35 percent of total project cost or $100,000; (5) Solar thermal projects—the lesser of 50 percent of total project cost or $75,000; and (6) Combined heat and power projects and district energy projects—the lesser of 35 percent of total project cost or $200,000. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is available through August 4, 2010. More at http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/EnergyRFP/LocGov_Renew.html.

• Minnesota Office of Energy Security Solar Thermal Air Heat and Hot Water Rebates: For a limited time only, the MN Office of Energy Security is offering a significant rebate for solar thermal installations on homes and businesses across the state! Start heating with a reliable, energy efficient, and cost-saving solar thermal system. Manufactured here in Minnesota, solar thermal panels can reduce your space heating and water heating bill! Businesses and multi-family housing units could see rebates up to $25,000, and home owners could save $2,000 (25% of costs) and or 2-3 family units could save up to $4,000 on the cost of a system. Up to $500,000 in solar thermal rebates are available for Minnesota businesses and residents. More at http://solarthermal.mncerts.org.

• Minnesota Office of Energy Security – Renewable Energy Systems Step-by-Step Guide for Schools: The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Office of Energy Security (OES) seeks proposals to create a step-by-step guide, model documents, and a resource list for Minnesota public school districts—Kindergarten through 12th grade—interested in renewable energy systems. This guide will help schools to identify and evaluate the actions that are necessary to effectively integrate a renewable energy system in their district operations. Up to $40,000 in funds will be used for this Informal Solicitation. Proposals must be received no later than Thursday, August 19, 2010. More at http://tinyurl.com/2eqj3c6.

• Clean up your Minnesota school’s bus emissions for free! The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) are partnering with the Minnesota Environmental Initiative’s (MEI) Project Green Fleet to improve the environmental standards of older school buses. Project Green Fleet provides and installs air quality retrofit equipment, normally valued at $1,500-2,000, at no cost to fleets or districts. Diesel vehicles account for 10% of traffic on Minnesota roads, but account for more than 50% of all traffic related air pollution. With a simple, free retrofit by Project Green Fleet, emissions can be reduced by 30 – 50% per vehicle. The emission reductions directly benefit students and employees that ride and work around the buses. Over 1,700 buses across the state have participated in Project Green Fleet so far. Together, CERTs and Project Green Fleet have the goal of retrofitting every eligible bus in the state. More at http://greenfleet.mncerts.org.

 
The Green Institute and ALL the tenants in our building hosted the largest free breakfast for bikers and walkers last Thursday in the Twin Cities for BikeWalk to Work Day! Guests included Mayor R. T. Rybak, Councilmembers Schiff and Glidden, Commissioner McLaughlin, and Rep. Davnie, in addition to the co-creators of 30 Days of Biking! We also gave away spoke cards to commemorate our third annual event.

We had 403 people in attendance at our event and logged a cumulative 3580 miles, more than doubling last year’s total number of miles biked. One intrepid biker even commuted 52 miles! We even had a bakfiets, a Dutch cargo bike, which gave a local reporter a ride around the parking lot in its “basket”.

Watch video coverage from Fox 9:

We served pancakes, sausage, eggs (40 dozen!), oatmeal, Birchwood pastries, granola bars, Peace Coffee (600 cups!!!) and juice. The Hub Bike Co-op did some small repairs at their free bike check clinic and handed out free patch kits, we also had a Metro Transit bus bike rack for folks to try out. The Bike Alliance of MN and the Midtown Greenway Coalition were also here. Additionally, thanks to Eureka Recycling and advanced planning, we produced only 1.25 lbs of trash—that’s less than a tenth of an ounce per person! By composting 82 pounds of material and recycling 12.3 pounds, 99% of all waste generated at the event was diverted from the trash!

Click here or watch the slideshow below to check out photos from the event.

We also want to thank Transit for Livable Communities the Minneapolis TMO and St. Paul Smart Trips, City of Minneapolis Bike Walk Ambassador program and the entire Bike Walk Week team for their support! In addition, there are all of our fabulous sponsors and donors. Keep reading to learn who they are and read what people were saying about the event on Twitter!

 
Like biking? Like free food and coffee? Then you should definitely come to the 3rd annual Brake for Breakfast event this Thursday, June 10th from 7-9am!

The tentants of the Phillips Eco Enterprise Center will be serving a FREE breakfast in the parking lot! Menu includes: Birchwood Cafe pastries, eggs, pancakes, sausage, vegan sweet rolls, tofu scramble, oatmeal, Peace Coffee and juice. This will be a zero-waste event thanks to Eureka Recycling!

If you want to tell everyone you’re coming and see what people are saying about the event, check out the official Facebook event post.

Need more convincing? Check out how awesome the event was last year – because this year promises to be even better!

Photos from Brake for Breakfast 2009:

This event is part of Bike Walk Week 2010, going on all over the Twin Cities. Whether it’s biking to work, taking a leisurely weekend ride, or walking to the grocery store, residents are making the Twin Cities region one of the top places in the country for bicycling and walking. Bike Walk Week 2010 kicks off this summer, June 5-11, with a week of activities across the Twin Cities, all designed to have you peddling your wheels and moving your feet. Check out all the great stuff happening at http://www.bikewalkweek.org.

 
Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon won the 2010 Environmental Initiative Award in the Energy and Climate Protection category at the Minnesota Environmental Initiative’s Award Ceremony! Congratulations, everyone!

The Minnesota Environmental Initiative Awards are held every year to recognize outstanding partnerships. Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon won the Energy & Climate Protection Award for using innovative approaches to improve air quality, reduce energy use, and protect the climate by reducing energy consumption, promoting greenhouse gas reductions, and reducing criteria pollutants.

We’d like to extend a giant thanks to the students, teachers, building professionals, and other participants who have worked so hard in their schools to reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions! Thank you also to our project partners: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Office of Energy Security, Department of Commerce, and Environmental Resources Management. Finally, a special thanks is due to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (LCCMR) for their financial support!

To learn more about the awards and see the other winners and finalists, click here.

Check out these photos from the event: