Biogas Digesters 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....
Chris May
Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:19pm
On May 15 (only two weeks away!) the Renewable Materials Summit: Markets for Building the Biorefinery will take place in Fargo, North Dakota. The event will highlight and explore the companies and markets that are driving opportunities for returns on investment that leverage the emerging bioeconomy.
We spoke with Tim Welle, Program Manager with The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, to learn a little bit more. You can click here to register for the event or learn more.
Joel Haskard: What can people expect to learn at the Renewable Materials Summit?
Tim Welle: Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the emerging biobased economy. The world is changing for manufacturers and original equiptment manufacturers (OEMs) as petroleum prices increase and consumer demand shifts toward safer materials. Local...
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 >>...
Dan Thiede
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 12:58pm
USDA Rural Development is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding is available from USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.
The REAP program is designed to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and meet the nation’s critical energy needs. For 2012, USDA has approximately $25.4 million in budget authority available to fund REAP activities, which will support at least $12.5 million in grants and approximately $48.5 million in guaranteed loans.
USDA is accepting the following applications:
Renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grant applications and combination grant and...
Joel Haskard
Tue, 01/17/2012 - 10:00am
States and communities are increasingly investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy to achieve their air quality, economic, and energy goals. In doing so, they have found that the up-front costs of improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy generation can be a barrier for many homeowners, building owners, and businesses. One way to address these barriers is by adopting clean energy financing programs that can make efficiency and renewable energy more affordable for these sectors.
EPA’s State and Local Climate and Clean Energy Program is supporting these efforts with the launch of a new online Financing Program Decision Tool and a Financing Program Decision Guide.
Here are the details:
The Financing Program Decision Tool is designed for state and local staff in the early...
Brittney Bray
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 3:49pm
This information was originally part of a Midwest Energy News article by Dan Haugen on November 7, 2011. His reflection on the Institute on the Environment’s E3 (Energy, Economy and Environment) conference at the University of Minnesota follows.
This morning we heard from the German Embassy’s energy and environment counselor, Friedo Sielemann, who talked about how his country became one of the world’s clean-energy success stories.
Germany now generates more than 20 percent of its electricity from renewables. And it’s achieved that without disrupting its economy, Sieleman said.
“We often hear that if you do this or that for the environment, your economy will suffer,” Sieleman said. Germany, however, has grown its GDP even as energy use has decreased. “These three are not automatically connected.”
The goal isn’t to give “eternal support” for renewables, Sieleman said, but rather...
Brittney Bray
Wed, 12/14/2011 - 4:44pm
This article, by By Thomas Content, originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Midwest can seize an advantage when it comes to developing homegrown energy on the farm, a new report says. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs says the region’s abundance of farms can point the region toward procuring more energy from waste streams—whether that means from grease and oil from restaurants, corn stalks and cobs left over from the corn crop, or manure from dairy farms.
“Cellulosic biofuels represent a potentially substantial economic opportunity for the Midwest and could also have a larger impact on the U.S. energy supply mix,” the report says.
Wisconsin’s a national leader in the production of energy from manure from dairy cows—...
Lise Trudeau
Wed, 10/26/2011 - 2:20pm
Updated Nov. 10, 2011.
The Division of Energy Resources, Minnesota Department of Commerce is hosting a series of Distributed Generation Workshops to examine opportunities and issues related to greater development of distributed generation resources in Minnesota.
The department is hosting four workshops this fall to discuss the benefits, barriers, and issues associated with increased DG capacity. We’re pleased to share the presentations from these workshops below. Upcoming workshops will focus on net metering and next steps, and we will share those presentations once they’re available in November.
What is it? Distributed generation is a decentralized power plant, feeding into the distribution level power-grid and typically sized between 10 and 150 MW. Our electric utility...
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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