energy efficiency

March 1, 2011, Crookston, MN – Twenty people gathered for a “Meet ‘n Greet” tour of Dahlgren & Company, Inc., hosted by the Northwest Clean Energy Resource Teams (NW CERT) on February 24th. This “Meet ‘n Greet” was the first in a series of site visits hosted by NW CERT, to highlight energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts underway around the Northwest region.

Dahlgren & Company, Inc. (Dahlgren’s) has been a major manufacturer in Crookston since 1955. Dahlgren’s is a world supplier of raw and roasted sunflower products. Dahlgren’s has recently implemented many projects that have saved their company tens of thousands of dollars, through energy efficiency and water conservation improvements.

Meeting participants toured the facility to see exactly how this major manufacturer has made these improvements, and to learn how they can replicate this success in their own businesses.

“Folks were very engaged and interested in learning about Dahlgren’s energy efficiency and water-saving improvements,” said Linda Kingery, CERTs Steering Committee member. “It was great to have the participation of students from the University of Minnesota – Crookston and for them to see a Crookston graduate, Travis Oliver, now working as a Sustainability Coordinator for Dahlgren’s.”

During the tour, meeting participants learned some amazing facts about Dahlgren’s energy savings, which they hope to replicate in their own small businesses.

Gordy Terpstra, Electrical Supervisor/Plant Services, shared that by retrofitting their lighting, adding occupancy sensors and other projects, Dahlgren’s reduced its overall electrical use by 18% between 2009 and 2010, for a payback of 1.2 years.

In one warehouse, Dahlgren’s reduced their electricity bill by 60% within one year. In 2009, the warehouse used 134,423 kilowatt hours (kWh), costing $8150. After implementing energy efficiency measures, they reduced their use to 53,612 kWh in 2010, reducing the cost by 60% to $3250. They accomplished this by switching out 33 fixtures, replacing metal halide lights with fluorescents, and adding occupancy sensors, as well as implementing other projects.

Dahlgren’s has started recycling water in their roasting facility, to save some of the 17 million gallons of water used throughout the plant annually. Now water is captured from the cooling scrubbers, filtered, and used again in their roasting scrubbers. From this simple change, they already have and will continue to save two million gallons of water per year, a 6.6% reduction. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. We think we can reduce our water use by 60%,” said Terpstra.

Dahlgren’s is also innovative in their approach to finding solutions. “Green Teams,” comprised of employees who know the ins of outs of daily operations, have formed in four different areas of the plant. The Green Teams propose projects and improvements for the plant. This culture change has not only saved thousands of dollars for the company, but has also invigorated employee morale.

More from this meeting:

• Dahlgren’s presentation about Resource Conservation >>
• Article about Dahlgeren’s >>

COMING UP: The second NW CERT “Meet ‘n Greet”in this series will take place 10 a.m. Thursday, March 24, 2010 at Bio Haus, located at Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji. Register online to attend this free event at: http://nwmeetngreet2.eventbrite.com.

Click here to see a PDF version of this event highlight >>

You be the judge! The Clean Energy Resource Teams received 12 fantastic submissions for our CERTs 2011 Clean + Green Video Shorts Contest, and we need you to help determine the winners of $500 and other great prizes!

Everyone is the world is encouraged to vote once and spread the word! Voting will continue until midnight on Monday, January 31st. The finalists, as determined by you and hundreds of other clean energy geeks, will be screened at the CERTs 2011 Conference Reception on the evening of February 2nd, 2011.

CERTs 2011 Clean Energy Convergence will unite you with other Minnesotans who are blazing the paths to a clean energy future by working on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in their communities. Get ready to learn, connect, and act with CERTs and 600 engaged community members on February 2-3, 2011 in Saint Cloud, MN!

CERTs 2011 is a venue for both broad and in-depth learning opportunities, connecting and networking with engaged community members, and taking action on energy efficiency and clean energy projects. The event will begin with In-Depth Workshops and an Evening Reception on February 2nd, and continue with a Daylong Conference on the 3rd.

Pre-Registration Ends at 5pm on Monday, Jan 24th!

You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and act with your fellow Minnesotans! CERTs 2011 is February 2-3, 2011 in St. Cloud, MN. Register by 5pm next Monday, January 24th to save $20! All registration after that must be done at the door. Save time and money by pre-registering now! You can register for both days of CERTs 2011 or just one of them. Here’s the scoop:

• February 2, 2011 – Workshops & Reception: $30
  ($40 at the door)
• February 3, 2011 – Daylong Conference: $50
  ($60 at the door)

Watch a quick video about CERTs 2011!

Share with Others! There are lots of ways that you can help us spread the word about the CERTs 2011 Clean Energy Convergence! We put together promotional text, graphics, brochures, postcards, and more that you can use to tell your friends and colleagues about the event. Click to spread the word: http://bit.ly/certs2011share

Bonus!

• Bus & Rideshare! To make it easier for you to get to and from the CERTs 2011 Conference, we will be providing a free bus from the Twin Cities and back on February 3rd, as well as a rideshare map so that you can find attendees near you to carpool with!
  
  
• Free Do It Green! Magazine! We’re excited to announce that all CERTs 2011 attendees will be receiving a complimentary copy of Do It Green! Magazine, the perfect resource for those trying to live a more sustainable life! It offers over 100 educational articles on living green plus a directory of MN green businesses.
  
  

If so, then you’re in luck! Several undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus are seeking paid or unpaid internships with cities that are interested in participating in the GreenStep Cities program.

 
Student interns would spend four or ten hours a week on their internship starting in mid-January 2011 and ending in late April. If you are interested in having a student intern help you with your GreenStep Cities work—especially doing an inventory of previously completed and planned GreenStep best practice actions—or other sustainability-related work, please contact David Wanberg, an instructor at the University of Minnesota, as soon as possible at dwanberg@umn.edu or 612-384-1686.

To learn more about GreenStep Cities, visit http://www.mngreenstep.org.

At the start of 2010 CERTs announced the funding of 55 projects from all over Minnesota with seed grants of up to $11,000. Those recipients have been hard at work for the past year, and we’re getting ready to share their successes and lessons learned!

In the coming months CERTs staff will be busy writing case studies about all of these great projects—so stay tuned for those. You should also register for the upcoming CERTs Conference on February 2-3 where many of the grant recipients will be joining us to talk about their efforts!

Below is a map of all of the funded projects. You can also see them in a past blog post.

As many of you likely know, Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition program to help cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementation of 28 best practices. Each best practice can be implemented by completing one or more specific actions from a list of four to eight actions. These actions are tailored to all Minnesota cities, focus on cost savings and energy use reduction, and encourage innovation.

There are now cities across the state documenting their current efforts on the GreenStep Cities website. This is because many cities are already doing many of the items listed as best practices for the program, using this as a baseline from which to move forward. We have so many active and innovative cities here in Minnesota—there is much to be proud of!

Check out the website at http://www.mngreenstep.org to learn more! When you get there, just click on the linked city names to the right of the map to find out more about what individual cities are doing. Cities with recent updates include Eagan, Elk River, Hopkins, Mahtomedi, Mankato, Milan, Northfield, Pine River, Royalton, Saint Cloud.

Let Honeywell send you a little holiday gift in the New Year! If you purchased a Honeywell Do-It-Yourself Programmable Thermostat before November 30th, you are eligible for up to $10 off your model with a special rebate from CERTs and Honeywell.

The deadline for postmarking your rebate form is December 31st, so be sure to fill out your form and mail it in. You can print the rebate form at http://rebates.mncerts.org if you still need to, or misplaced one you downloaded a few months back.

We’d love to hear how you are enjoying your new thermostat! Tell us by leaving a comment. If you have other questions, please email rebate@cleanenergyresourceteams.org.

Thanks so much for taking part in our campaign and rewarding yourself with some energy and cost savings for holidays!

Xcel Energy and The Green Institute launched a free energy efficiency makeover for the Lao Family Community in Saint Paul.

An energy audit determined ways the nonprofit could save energy and money. Those measures will be implemented over the coming months. Many community partners donated things like windows, programmable thermostats, LED (light emitting diode) lights and time to complete this project. The goal is to save the facility 15 percent annually in energy bills.

Click here to read an overview of the project and watch the video coverage from WCCO TV below to hear more from Nancy Kelly at The Green Institute about the project!

Phantom power is the energy being drained from your devices when you’re not using them.

It can be difficult to know and understand this, but a website from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory can tell you exactly what wattage your electronic devices are using when they are on, off, or in “sleep” mode. Use the site to learn about your energy use, and remember, when devices are not needed, unplug them or turn off your powerstrip!

Click here to visit the website now >>

The University of Minnesota retrofitted more than 7,400 inefficient, T12 lamped, magnetic ballasted fluorescent light fixtures with modern solid state ballasts and high efficiency T8 lamps in eight residence halls on the Twin Cities campus.

The lighting retrofit has improved the quality of light provided in the students’ living spaces, study areas, common areas and dining facilities. The retrofit also saves money and reduces the University’s carbon footprint. Xcel Energy awarded the U with a rebate of nearly $143,000! Find out more about the University of Minnesota’s lighting retrofit.