According to a recent study commissioned by efficiency advocates, equipment like caulking and insulation — basic tools for retrofitting the country’s homes and businesses — is almost entirely made in the United States.
About 96 percent of caulking used domestically is made here, the study said, and various types of attic and wall insulation, as well as spray foam and duct sheet metal, are all over 90 percent American-manufactured. Even 96 percent of replacement windows for American buildings are made here.
The study was sponsored by the Home Performance Resource Center, a nonprofit linked to Efficiency First, an advocacy organization. A firm called Newport Partners conducted the analysis; it used government data to determine what share of each type of products was imported.
Submitted by Lissa Pawlisch on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 10:08.
February 2-3, 2011
Saint Cloud Civic Center
10 4th Avenue South, Saint Cloud, MN 56301
Join CERTs and hundreds of other Minnesotans for our fourth biennial conference!CERTs connects you and your community members with resources to identify and implement energy efficiency & renewable energy projects. The conference website will continue to grow as the event approaches at 2011.MNCERTs.org.
CERTs 2011 will be a great place for your organization to be seen! CERTs 2011 sponsor and exhibitor info will be available soon! We anticipate that our rates will be similar to last year, so download the 2009 Sponsor & Exhibitor Packet so that you can plan CERTs 2011 into your budget now. Sign up to stay in the loop at Updates.MNCERTs.org.
Nominate a CERTs 2011 Planning Committee Member Today! CERTs is working to put together a Planning Committee for next year’s conference, and we need your help. Tell us about an energy geek or sparkplug in your community who would be an outstanding addition to our team! And don’t be afraid to nominate yourself! Email the person’s name, title, organization, email and phone, along with why you think they would make a great Planning Committee member to Maggie Kozak at makozak@umn.edu.
What makes a good Planning Committee member?
Expertise or interest in energy efficiency, renewable energy, or community development
Can attend eight conference calls from May to December and work a little in between
Connected to the community in a significant way
Enthusiastic about working collaboratively as part of a group
Interest and experience planning events
Understands CERTs’ audience
Plans to attend CERTs 2011 on February 2-3, 2011
What will the Planning Committee members do?
Help set goals and key themes for CERTs 2011
Identify and recruit event sponsors and exhibitors
Outline overall agenda sessions, keynote speakers, and more
Plan individual sessions in their area of expertise or interest
Spread the word about the conference in their circles of influence
Attend CERTs 2011 and enjoy the fruits of their labor!
Get recognized for your leadership by people across the state!
Learn more about the CERTs 2011 and past events at2011.MNCERTs.org.
Submitted by Susan Waughtal on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 18:00.
The Rochester Area 2010 Think Green Fair will take place from 10am-9pm on June 26th, 2010 at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds, Graham Park. Join us for this full full day celebration of green living and sustainability in southern Minnesota!
What is Thinking Green? Thinking green means learning to live in a way that will reduce your impact on the environment, improve your quality of life, and save you money. Thinking Green is about coming together with neighborhoods, communities, organizations, and businesses to ensure that the choices we make today will not compromise the quality of life for future generations.
The fair will include a green expo, workshops, speakers, musical entertainment, local food, artisans and children’s activities providing you the opportunity to think green in all aspects of your life.
The goal of the fair is to educate attendees in the areas of:
Efficiency/Renewable energy
Conservation/Protection of water and/or air
Earth friendly home and garden products
Waste reduction
Durable/Reusable products
Natural or locally produced foods (free-range, pesticide-free)
Green certification (USDA Organic, Energy Star, Fair Trade, LEED, other)
Health and Wellness
Promotion of environmental values
If your environmental business or organization would like to be a vendor or sponsor, visit www.rneighbors.org/thinkgreen.
Submitted by Joel Haskard on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 15:49.
It’s true that the cash-for-appliances program that began Monday in Minnesota ran out of money Tuesday morning. But don’t loose hope! Many utilities across the state are still offering their own rebates for new ENERGYSTAR appliances, as well as incentives for trading in your old appliances!
Check to see if your utility has rebates for ENERGYSTAR appliance purchases and/or related programs. Find out at DSIRE and on the Rebate/Bounty Factsheet.
Minnesotans, it seems, love a good cash rebate. State residents got more than $72 million in the Cash for Clunkers program for new cars last summer — $13.85 per resident, the third highest in the country.
Other states whose appliance rebate programs have already started are plodding through their allotments, which are based on population. Wisconsin’s program started Jan 1, and it has allocated only 20 percent of its $5.4 million. New York and Michigan have had to extend their programs to use up stimulus money. Michigan has $5.5 million left of its $9.5 million stash that opened up a month ago.
The exception to that is Iowa, which also started its program Monday and had jams similar to Minnesota’s early in the day. Iowa is already out of its allocated $2.8 million…
Anticipation in Minnesota ran high for the past several weeks, said Julie Warner of appliance chain Warners’ Stellian. “Hundreds of people called or came into the stores over the weekend doing their pre-shopping,” she said. “Five hundred people signed up for appliance stimulus e-mail alerts.”…
Each state designed its own program with money that was part of the stimulus package passed last year. Minnesota’s program includes rebates of $50 to $200 on dishwashers, refrigerators, washers and freezers, which are only available from the site and the toll-free number. Appliance dealers do not have rebates to give out and consumers do not need to have purchased appliances yet…
Submitted by Dan Thiede on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 14:21.
Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently under a rebate program President Barack Obama is promoting.
Obama traveled to Savannah, Ga., on Tuesday to outline the Home Star program, which was left out of the jobs bill in December. Obama called for energy rebates in his State of the Union address, and officials hope the plan will be as popular as last year’s Cash for Clunkers money-back program for autos.
Obama stopped at Savannah Technical College to visit students who are learning how to install insulation and other equipment.
“We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities — and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient, which support clean energy jobs,” Obama said in January.
“These are the skills that will help our country produce and use energy,” he said Tuesday in Savannah. “We have the potential to create millions of jobs in the sector.”
He has said shifting the U.S. toward cleaner, renewable sources of energy and making homes — particularly older houses — more energy-efficient will help accomplish three goals: reducing America’s dependence on foreign energy sources, creating much-needed jobs and saving consumers money on their utility bills.
The new program has two levels of rebates. Various vendors, ranging from small, independent contractors to national home improvement chains, would promote the rebates, give the money to consumers and then wait for reimbursement from the federal government.
Some details of the program, including how long it will run and its total cost, remain to be worked out with Congress, according to senior administration officials.
Obama said the steps to renew homes — such as installing new water heaters, insulation, windows, roofs and doors will have a price tag — but will create the energy the country needs and provide employment for construction workers and contractors.
Submitted by Lissa Pawlisch on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 13:15.
All rebate funds have been reserved for the Minnesota Trade-in & Save Appliance Program! This means that applications are no longer being accepted at http://www.mnappliancerebate.com.
Submitted by Lissa Pawlisch on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 07:54.
You’ve heard about it; you’ve known it was coming…but this morning, Monday, March 1st at 8am it goes live!
It’s your chance to save $200 on a new ENERGYSTAR Appliance…and to recycle that old clunker! Get the full scoop here:appliancerebates.mncerts.org
The Minnesota “Trade‐in & Save” Appliance Program offers a rebate for replacing your old appliance with an ENERGYSTAR qualified refrigerator, freezer, clothes washer, or dishwasher. In addition, your utility may offer additional rebates for ENERGYSTAR qualified appliance purchases and/or for recycling your old, functioning appliance.
You can reserve your rebate by signing up at www.MNappliancerebate.com or by calling the program toll‐free number, 1‐877‐230‐9119.
REMEMBER: Rebate reservations can be made starting at 8am this morning, and you must reserve your rebate PRIOR to purchasing your new appliance. Appliance purchased must be from the list of ENERGYSTAR rated appliances at www.MNappliancerebate.com.
There is only ONE rebate per household, so you shouldn’t keep this to yourself! Tell your family, friends and neighbors. Share this opportunity with Civic Organizations in your community like the Rotary Club and Lions Club.
Submitted by Joel Haskard on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 16:27.
The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) are kicking off their new “CERTified Campaigns” program today with their first campaign aimed at placing 200 VendingMisers on cold-drink vending machines, resulting in energy savings of over 335,000 kilowatt hours per year—which amounts to roughly $26,800.
The VendingMiser Bulk-Buy Campaign, offered by CERTs, EnergyMisers, LLC, and Minnesota Waste Wise’s Energy Smart program encourages schools, businesses, local governments, and anyone else with a cold-drink vending machine to join in and save.
“A VendingMiser is a simple little device that lowers the energy use of a beverage vending machine without affecting its performance,” says Lissa Pawlisch, CERTs Statewide Coordinator. “This is your chance to take action and save big.”
Most vending machines cost around $300 a year in energy costs. VendingMisers have been shown to cut a vending machine’s energy consumption by 46% and earn savings of around $130 per year. VendingMisers typically boast a payback of around 16 months. With this bulk-buy campaign and with numerous utilities across the state offering rebates of $50-$75 per VendingMiser purchase, participating organizations can shorten this payback even further.
CERTified Campaigns are a program that will 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.
Submitted by Phil Smith on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 08:28.
The Minnesota Office of Energy Security, Department of Commerce announced yesterday that their residential solar electric and solar hot water rebates are now available.
Applications for Minnesota’s new Residential Solar Electric and Solar Hot Water Rebates are now available at www.energy.mn.gov.
Rebates up to $10,000 will be available for qualifying solar installations at an applicant’s primary residence. If you have a prior rebate application pending, their office will contact you to request additional application materials needed to comply with federal and state requirements.
OES also announced that applications for Residential Solar Air Heat Rebates and Small Business Solar Rebates will be available within two weeks.
To sign up to receive stimulus updates from OES, click here.
Submitted by Dan Thiede on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 17:01.
WASHINGTON, DC – As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to increasing energy efficiency and reducing costs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy announced today the creation of the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network. This network is meant to help states achieve maximum cost effective energy efficiency improvements in homes, offices, buildings and industry by 2020. Strengthening energy efficiency initiatives across the country helps to save money and protect the environment at the same time.
“In the clean energy future, energy efficiency is action number one. We can cut greenhouse gases and protect our environment while we save money for homeowners, schools and businesses,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “With strong federal support, our state partners can realize these benefits even faster than expected and move aggressively into a clean, affordable energy future.”
February 2-3, 2011
It’s true that the cash-for-appliances program that began Monday in Minnesota ran out of money Tuesday morning. But don’t loose hope! Many utilities across the state are still offering their own rebates for new 
You’ve heard about it; you’ve known it was coming…but this morning, Monday, March 1st at 8am it goes live!
“A VendingMiser is a simple little device that lowers the energy use of a beverage vending machine without affecting its performance,” says Lissa Pawlisch, 
The Minnesota Office of Energy Security, Department of Commerce announced yesterday that their residential solar electric and solar hot water rebates are now available.
