Ground Source Heating & Cooling Blog Posts
Bringing you news about clean energy projects and opportunities happening across the state. Tell your story.
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Dan Thiede
Tue, 05/15/2012 - 9:24am
CERTs is pleased to announce that next Monday, May 21st we will open a request for proposals (RFP) for technical assistance to catalyze community energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. So stay tuned for that announcement, or sign up for email updates so that you don’t miss it.
Each region has $10,000 to award. Each team’s Steering Committee will make its own selections and project funding levels will vary by region. Projects can apply for up to the full $10,000 in their region, but historically regions have funded multiple projects in each region. See more information below about previously funded projects.
We awarded grants in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. The amount varies depending on the year and the project.
All projects
This map includes all projects ever funded by CERTs, color-coded by the year the award was...
Dan Thiede
Tue, 05/15/2012 - 8:04am
Before your calendar starts filling up for February 2013, we want to make sure you mark off February 20-21, 2013 (a Wednesday and Thursday) so that you can join us for the fifth biennial Clean Energy Resource Teams statewide conference!
What can you expect? We can’t tell you exactly what the agenda will look like, but we do know that the event will be an exploration and celebration of successful energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, and that it will be a coming together of hundreds of amazing people who are working to create a clean energy future in their communities and beyond. After the conference you will return home and to work with tangible and practical information for planning projects, as well as great connections to help you move forward and continue collaborating....
Jeff Vetsch
Wed, 05/09/2012 - 11:25am
We’re Jeff Vetsch, Anne Dybsetter, and our kids Henry and Hazel, and we think this contest is going to be a cake walk! Our team is the Mill Pond Minimizers, and we call New London, MN home.
We think the Family Energy FACE-OFF will be a great way to get our kids—and our friends and family—involved in saving energy and money at home!
Below is a little interview with more about us. We hope you’ll join our team!
Tell us about your house.
The house we live in was built somewhere around 1900. When we bought the house in 2008 we knew that keeping the energy bill down was going to be a top priority. To celebrate the new energy-saving opportunities of our beautiful old home, the first things we did was to purchase an efficient front loading washing machine. We also remodeled the kitchen and had the cabinet-maker build in a special...
Bill Mittlefehldt
Fri, 04/20/2012 - 2:26pm
Minnesota is in the midst of a transition to sustainable, clean energies for the 21st century. One of those energy sources is hidden underground. That’s right—there are abundant geothermal resources below our state’s lovely surface. This is the conclusion of a report recently published by the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
The NRRI research team and their state partners looked into the earth through 900 mining holes and wells to measure the heat gradient in rocks below Minnesota. They found no new fossil fuels, but they revealed an exciting amount of heat from geothermal sources. In a non-polluting, closed-loop technology, these thermal resources could be drilled with current natural gas technologies to a depth of 20,000 ft where the temperature is about 250 F. This heat is...
Jenna Lewein
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 12:20pm
Many places in Minnesota have found a way to extend the warm growing season into the colder winter months. This isn’t that surprising, greenhouses have been around, by some accounts, since the time of the Roman Emperors, and their objective remains the same: providing fresh, local produce for people to enjoy at any time of the year.
Originally constructed to serve the wealthy and powerful, today, anyone with the proper space and tools can construct a greenhouse. Through several greenhouse projects the Clean Energy Resource Teams have had the pleasure of working with people passionate about incorporating energy efficiency and renewable energy into their operations, ranging from local commercial endeavors to school projects. Below are introductions and links to several case studies for greenhouse projects found in...
UMN IonE
Thu, 03/01/2012 - 11:50am
A University of Minnesota earth sciences professor and a postdoctoral fellow in his work group have imagined a new process for generating electricity with a two-for-one climate benefit. Their “CO2 plume geothermal” (CPG) technology would draw heat from the Earth to produce electricity without producing carbon dioxide—while at the same time geologically sequestering CO2 that would otherwise be emitted into the air by traditional fossil-fuel-burning power plants, CO2 distilleries or other CO2 emitters.
Best of all, the process was born of a bright idea that puts existing technology to work. Says Martin Saar, a professor in the College of Science and Engineering, “Virtually all of the technology has already been tested.”
Saar’s geothermal process is on a fast track to production. An...
Nancy Kelly
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 8:59am
The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Twin Cities Chapter is pleased to offer for the first time two $1,000 scholarships to students planning to pursue of a career in Energy Engineering or Energy Management.
The AEE Foundation Scholarship program was established to encourage qualified practitioners in energy engineering and energy management to further education in these fields by awarding scholarships. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $600,000 in funds nationally for use by 1,115 outstanding students.
Scholarships are available to candidates obtaining their undergraduate or graduate degrees who are enrolled in an accredited college or university focusing on energy engineering or energy management.
A personal recommendation from a faculty member of the school that the student is attending that describes the student’s academic standing, character and financial need...
Joel Haskard
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 5:26pm
As we kick off 2012, we are excited to announce the projects awarded CERTs seed grants in each of the seven Minnesota CERTs regions. Each region awarded $10,000 worth of seed grants, catalyzing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The funding is provided by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.
There were 27 seed grants awarded in total, across a broad spectrum of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Many projects also include components of education, outreach and community building, and research. Read on for all of the details! Thanks to everyone who submitted a proposal. To learn more about past funded projects, our CERTs-Supported Projects page.
Download a PDF with all projects >>...
Annette Bair
Wed, 12/21/2011 - 1:50pm
With just over 850 residents, Howard is reimagining what it means to be rural with Maroney Commons. The Commons, built with green building techniques, is a mixed-use complex with a hotel, a conference center, a restaurant, and offices that will help rural residents learn about green jobs and technology.
The story behind Maroney Commons began over a decade ago, when Howard High School students launched a successful “buy local” campaign to increase sales tax revenue in Miner County. The effort generated nearly $16 million in additional gross sales for Howard, the county seat, in its first year and inspired Miner County’s residents to engage in a community visioning process. The visioning process, combined with the growth of the wind energy industry in Miner County, led to the development of the Maroney Commons.
Although...
Lissa Pawlisch
Fri, 09/09/2011 - 9:36am
Next month CERTs will be releasing a new Request for Proposal for seed grants, likely for $10,000 per CERT region.
CERTs provides catalyzing seed grants that encourage the implementation of community‐based energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in CERT regions and provide a forum for community education about energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and their economic, ecological and community benefits.
This limited financial assistance is for energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects requiring technical assistance. Project funding can support technical assistance services (labor costs only, such as for a consultant, design professional, installer or student labor) for projects in all seven Minnesota CERT regions.
Click here to start planning, and get ready to submit a proposal!
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