Clean Energy Resource Teams

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 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.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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:

 
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.

 
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.