Biofuels Blog Posts
Bringing you news about clean energy projects and opportunities happening across the state. Tell your story.
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Kristi Loobeek
Thu, 05/30/2013 - 10:59am
Some of Minnesota’s middle school students are getting involved with the clean energy movement! The Clean Air & Biodiesel Lesson & Poster Contest, Sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, was administered by the American Lung Association recently across the state of Minnesota. The contest was open to all 5th and 6th grade classes. The aim of the contest was to have creative students help demonstrate how biodiesel helps protect clean air and our health. Representatives from the American Lung Association in Minnesota presented the students with their awards at the school on May 29th.
Schools with winning classrooms were from Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis and Sky Oak Elementary in Burnsville. The first place class prize was a $50 gift card. Second place class prize was a $25 gift card. All three classrooms that participated received a $50...
MN Dept. of Commerce
Wed, 05/08/2013 - 10:37am
The following is a sample of new energy-related funding opportunities being promoted by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.
RFP for Conservation Applied Research and Development Grant Program – Seeks proposals from organizations or individuals interested in applied research and development projects that serve to accelerate the development and adoption of new energy efficient technologies and strategies in Minnesota. The information obtained from this effort is intended to inform electric and natural gas utility Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) development and state energy policy.
Eligibility: Individuals, public or private entities actively involved in electricity and natural gas efficiency program implementation or research and development
Topic: Conservation...
Joel Haskard
Mon, 04/22/2013 - 11:28am
The US Department of Agriculture announced their Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant application recently. These grants can pay for up to 25% of the eligible costs of a renewable energy project. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of funding and implement your renewable energy and/or energy efficiency projects in the Minnesota. The deadline is now May 31, 2013.
What’s available? USDA Rural Development has recently been made aware of access to additional funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) which will increase the 2013 funding from approximately $20 million to $60 million.
What are the deadlines? The application deadline for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Improvement (REEI) and Feasibility Study grants has been extended from April 30, 2013 to May 31, 2013 to facilitate the spending of these additional funds. The application...
Chris May
Tue, 04/16/2013 - 12:12pm
Red Lake Falls, MN—Over thirty people toured the Northwest Manufacturing plant in Red Lake Falls on April 4th to learn about the biomass industry in Minnesota. Northwest Manufacturing is home of the Wood Master furnaces, which use cord wood and biomass pellets as their fuel source.
“These biomass furnaces can be a real win-win for communities in this area,” said Chris May, the Northwest Regional Coordinator for the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) which organized the event. “It is great to see a technology where people can reduce their heating costs while supporting local manufacturing jobs at the same time.”
See photos from the event:
More resources:
For more information about Wood Master natural energy products, visit http://www.WoodMaster.com
Join hundreds of people interested in biomass at the...
Kristi Loobeek
Mon, 04/15/2013 - 12:00pm
May 1st marks an exciting day for the clean energy community of Minnesota! The 2013 Energy for Defense II event will center on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)—the world’s largest consumer and developer of power and energy solutions—and will showcase to the DoD the innovative energy solutions available in the Midwest region.
The Assistant Secretary of Defense of Operational Energy Policy & Programs, the Honorable Sharon Burke, will be the keynote presenter at the 2013 Energy for Defense II event. Accompanying Burke will be Minnesota Senator Al Franken (invited) who is Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The event also includes interactive sessions about operational and facilities’ energy needs, now and for the future.
This incredible event will not only feature powerful speakers, but will also provide a great opportunity...
Joel Haskard
Wed, 04/10/2013 - 12:19pm
Folks who attended the last session of the CERTs 2013 Conference gave themselves a unique challenge.
The Process: Dividing themselves into seven separate rooms according to their region of Minnesota, participants worked together for an intensive hour and a half to identify around five energy efficiency or renewable energy projects in their region that could potentially be implemented by the next CERTs Conference in February 2015.
The Projects: CERTs supports clean energy projects—energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects—that are in the public sphere (not policy). With this in mind, participants came up with a wide range of projects. Some of the ideas were broad and needed additional definition, others were fairly specific. Below are several examples from each region!
What’s Next? CERTs staff, steering...
Dan Thiede
Wed, 02/06/2013 - 7:06pm
At the CERTs 2013 Conference, a half day of in-depth workshops and an evening reception on February 20th, 2013 will be followed by a full day of sessions, networking time, and exhibits on the 21st.
With the conference less than three weeks away, we’re excited to share with you the full agenda for both days of the conference, complete with workshop and session descriptions and speaker names. If you were wondering what the conference holds in store for you, it doesn’t get much more clear than this!
See all of the details below…
Pre-Conference Workshops & Reception
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
11:00AM-12:00PM
Registration, Networking & Exhibitor Time (Terry Haws Hall C)
12:00-1:00PM
Lunch, Networking & Exhibitor Time (Terry Haws Hall C)
1:00-5:00PM
Your...
Diana McKeown
Wed, 01/16/2013 - 7:34pm
The GreenStep Cities program begins 2013 by announcing the 50th city to join the program.
At the end of December, the Maple Grove City Council approved a resolution for the city to take part in this voluntary program of the League of Minnesota Cities and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), among others.
“Since the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program was officially launched in June 2010, cities from all over the state and of varying sizes have decided to take advantage of the free assistance program,” said Philipp Muessig, GreenStep Cities Coordinator, MPCA.
Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition program to help cities achieve their sustainability and quality-of-life goals. This free...
Lissa Pawlisch
Thu, 01/10/2013 - 9:23pm
The 5th Statewide CERTs Conference – Community-Driven Clean Energy – is coming up on February 20-21, 2013 in Saint Cloud, and more than ever before it will be focused on conversations and action.
You should return home with connections, project ideas, and even collaborators who live and work in your part of the state. The conference will culminate in Regional Sessions that allow you to do just that ( see how they fit into the full agenda ). Because it’s the first time we’ve done something like this, we wanted to fill you in more about exactly what the Regional Sessions hold in store.
What are the goals of the Regional Sessions?
The ultimate goal of the CERTs Conference Regional Sessions is to identify five energy efficiency or renewable energy projects that can be...
Annette Bair
Thu, 10/04/2012 - 3:21pm
The International Bioenergy Days Conference is for business people who want to gain the competitive edge in biomass for residential use, district heating and cooling, biofuels for transportation, and biomaterials.
The conference will unite business people globally to enhance producers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs who envision renewable resources as the next economic stimulus for the U.S. This conference will focus on the application of field-tested ideas, with the goal to demonstrate renewable energy as the “new norm” that will serve as the economic driver as well as the centerpiece for environmental stewardship for future generations.
Conference Agenda:
Sunday, October 7 – Evening with the exhibitors
Monday, October 8 – Conference meetings
Tuesday, October 9 – Conference meetings
Wednesday,...
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