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 >>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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 >>

 
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.

Save money on a new system & support MN manufacturers while incentives last

 
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!

Heat your water or your home this winter with a reliable, energy efficient, and cost-saving solar thermal system. Manufactured here in Minnesota, solar thermal panels can reduce your heating and water heating bill!

To participate, visit http://solarthermal.mncerts.org and fill out either the Solar Air Heating Form or the Solar Water Heating Form.

“This is an amazing opportunity for people to get great deals on a solar thermal installation and support green manufacturing jobs right here in Minnesota at the same time,” says Joel Haskard, co-coordinator of the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs).

About Solar Thermal: While “solar energy” is often thought of as generating electricity, solar thermal systems offer a more efficient use of solar power, using the sun’s energy to heat our water and warm our spaces. A Solar Air Heating System directly transfers the sun’s warmth into hot air to heat your home, reducing your heating costs when you need it the most. A Solar Water Heating System uses the heat of the sun to heat your water, saving on your hot water costs. Both solar thermal systems utilize a clean and renewable energy—the sun!

About the Rebates: The Minnesota Office of Energy Security hopes that Minnesotans will take advantage of this technology, and is offering up to $500,000 in solar thermal rebates for business and residents for a limited time. While rebate amounts will vary, businesses and multi-family units can apply for a rebate up to $25,000 for a solar thermal system. Homeowners are also eligible for of to 25% of the cost of smaller systems.

To learn more about solar thermal systems, available rebates and incentives, our Minnesota manufacturers, and to take action, visit http://solarthermal.mncerts.org or email solar@cleanenergyresourceteams.org with detailed questions.

Please spread the word about this opportunity to all of the people and groups that you know who might be interested in adding a solar thermal system to their home or business! Click here to download the official program announcement >>

Hot Rebates for Solar Thermal is the third in a series of “CERTified Campaigns” from the Clean Energy Resource Teams to provide Minnesotans with clear and actionable ways to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in their community. To learn about other campaigns, visit http://act.mncerts.org.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
There have been quite a few postings lately for green jobs in the areas of energy efficiency and clean energy, so we wanted to make sure that you heard about them and spread the word to folks you know who are looking for work!

CERTs Coordinator for Northwest, MN: Do you lecture your family about turning off the lights? Would you consider a visit to a wind turbine a good use of vacation time? Do you like to talk with others about clean energy? We have a job for you! The Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team seeks temporary appointment of a Northwest CERT Regional Coordinator. The Northwest CERT Regional Coordinator will be instrumental in advancing the NW CERT’s mission to advance clean energy in the region by working with various organizations and individuals across the region and connecting them with the resources they need to identify and implement local energy efficiency and clean energy projects. The ideal candidate for this position will be someone with knowledge of clean energy practices, models and technologies and someone who likes to, and is good at, working with people. Send resume to Lissa Pawlisch, University of MN, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Cir, St. Paul, MN 55105 or to PAWL0048@umn.edu by June 15th. See the job posting for further details!

CERTs Case Study Researcher Internship Opportunity, Summer 2010: CERTs is looking for a skilled writer who is interested in researching and authoring case studies on energy efficiency and clean energy projects! This will be a great chance to build on your portfolio of written work and meet people in the industry. CERTs supports community-based clean energy projects across the state with seed grants. Once the project is completed, the grantee submits a final report telling how the project was implemented. The final step is to create a case study to describe community models, technologies and lessons learned about projects CERTs has helped fund. These case studies are typically one to two pages long and are a helpful resource to communities who want to do similar projects. Interns will be given a byline (credit) for the case study they write (if they wish) and hopefully gain valuable insight into the variety of clean energy projects springing up across the state. Please submit a cover letter and your resume to Michelle Vigen at vigen010@umn.edu by Wednesday, June 9th at noon. See the job posting for further details!

Center for Energy and Environment Project Assistant: We are looking for an exceptional and hard working individual to provide assistance in implementing our residential programs. Specific tasks assigned to this individual would vary according to their capabilities, but would cut across many aspects of our programs. It would be an ideal above-entry level position for someone to gain some great hands-on experience in implementing some of CEE’s wonderful programs, and work with some of the leading practitioners in the energy efficiency field. Potential applicants should send applications directly to the email listed on the job announcement. Applications might not be accepted after June 4th—be sure to check with CEE. See the job posting for further details!

Center for Energy and Environment Policy Associate: We are looking for an individual with a little more experience, and with exceptional and proven analytical and persuasive skills to help implement CEE’s policy agenda. Again, specific tasks would vary depending on the individual’s experience, but would include monitoring and advocating in regulatory and legislative arenas. Some amount of program development would also be involved with this position. Potential applicants should send applications directly to the email listed on the job announcement. Applications might not be accepted after June 4th—be sure to check with CEE. See the job posting for further details!

Neighborhood Energy Connection Finance and Human Resources Manager: The Neighborhood Energy Connection (NEC), a 25-year-old nonprofit environmental organization, seeks a forward-thinking, entrepreneurial-minded, and highly-motivated individual to manage its finances. The NEC is a regional leader in the field of energy efficiency. With an expanding car sharing program and a long history in residential energy efficiency programs, the NEC is at the forefront of developing new tools for the burgeoning green economy. The Finance and Human Resources Manager is a qualified accountant responsible for managing the organization’s finances and benefits programs. Applications will be accepted through June 11, 2010. See the job posting for further details!

Other places to look: Minnesota-specific job boards that you should check include PCA’s NextStep and SEEK Job Listings, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Jobs List, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Job Board. Other popular job search engines with energy listings include careerbuilder.com, idealist.org, indeed.com, job.com, monster.com, yahoo.com, and nationjob.com.

 
Do you lecture your family about turning off the lights? Would you consider a visit to a wind turbine a good use of vacation time? Do you like to talk with others about clean energy? We have a job for you! The Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team seeks temporary appointment of a Northwest CERT Regional Coordinator.

The Northwest CERT Regional Coordinator will be instrumental in advancing the NW CERT’s mission to advance clean energy in the region by working with various organizations and individuals across the region and connecting them with the resources they need to identify and implement local energy efficiency and clean energy projects. The ideal candidate for this position will be someone with knowledge of clean energy practices, models and technologies and someone who likes to, and is good at, working with people.

 
These presentations were given as part of the April 21, 2010 Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team meeting on Smart Grid Technology in Northwest Minnesota. Together these presentations offer an introduction to smart grid technology general, and highlight its use in NW MN.

 
Smart Meter Basics and Benefits by Darryl Tveitbakk, Northern Municipal Power Agency

Download presentation >>

 
Smart Grid Technology Use at East Grand Forks Water and Light by Corey Thompson, Electronic and Information Systems Manager and Bonnie Abel, Customer and Energy Services Manager

Download presentation >>

 
Smart Grid & Beyond by Joe Jacobson, Eusco

Download presentation >>

 
The Metro CERT Spring Resource & Networking event was a big hit this year! On April 14th from 4-8pm the shindig brought together more than two hundred Metro CERT affiliates, partners and friends excited to celebrate Metro CERT’s second year of connecting communities to resources, hear about our first round of seed grants to Twin Cities communities, learn about our new energy efficiency campaigns and other resources, and connect with their fellow energy geeks.

Photos: Check out photos from the event to reflect on the good times you had or to see what you missed. Press play on the slideshow below, or click here to see the images on Flickr.

The evening’s line up:

• Terry Webster, Office of Energy Security: Making Smart Energy Investments
• Sam Hanson, East Side Neighborhood Development Company: Building BLOCKS
• Greg Palmer, Xcel Energy: Partnership with CERTs & Xcel Programs
• Diana McKeown, Green Institute & Metro CERT: Metro CERT: Year in Review
• Everyone: Networking and refreshments

If you’re looking for an event keepsake, you can download the promotional postcard.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Eureka Recycling was proud to partner with Metro CERT to make this a zero waste event. By rethinking, reusing, recycling, and composting all the discards, we greatly reduced our environmental impact! For more info, visit http://www.eurekarecycling.org.

Xcel Energy was a proud sponsor of the Metro CERT Spring Resource & Networking Event. To learn more about their commitments to energy efficiency and conservation, as well as renewable energy, visit http://www.xcelenergy.com. Also, check out the award Xcel just honored CERTs with here.

 
Past events: If you want, you can also learn about 2009 and 2008 Metro CERT Spring Resource & Networking events, and see photos from the 2009 get together.

 
CERTs is taking this opportunity to highlight events and reflections on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.

So, if you’re looking for something to do tomorrow or looking to do a little reflecting on how far we’ve come since the first Earth Day, check out the links below.

I’m sure there are events we’ve forgotten. If you know of something that is going on to celebrate Earth Day that you’d like others to know about, click here to share it on our Facebook page!

 
EVENTS & RESOURCES:

• Events happening on Earth Day on the CERTs calendar
• Events posted by Minnesotans on the CERTs Facebook page
• Earth Day resources from our friends at Office of Energy Security

 
REFLECTIONS FROM AROUND MINNESOTA:

• Earth Day 40: A Week of Reminiscence From Those Who Were There – Conservation Minnesota, John Helland
• Earth Day 40 years later: Renewables – Bemidji Pioneer, Brita Sailer
• Looking Back on Progress After Earth Day 1970 – Conservation Minnesota, Bob Dunn
• The birth of Earth Day – Marshall Independent, Ted Rowe
• Earth Day Then and Now: Naiveté, Realism, Fear, and Hope – Conservation Minnesota, Chuck Dayton

 
EARTH DAY AT THE CAPITOL: THUMBS UP FOR CLEAN ENERGY!

Students from across the state will gather in the Rotunda at the Minnesota State Capitol this Earth Day, April 22 from 10am-2pm to talk about actions they’re taking to reduce the carbon footprints of their schools. They’ll be sharing the microphone with legislators and climate leaders who have been working to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green jobs in Minnesota. This is a fantastic opportunity to document innovative clean energy efforts in Minnesota. The event, “Earth Day at the Capitol: Thumbs Up for Clean Energy!” is a celebration of student-led energy efficiency and clean energy projects, Minnesota’s leadership on clean energy and green jobs, and working together to build our clean energy future. Click here for more information about the event.