Biomass Energy Blog Posts
Bringing you news about clean energy projects and opportunities happening across the state. Tell your story.
 Subscribe via RSS feed |
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...
Jeff Vetsch
Thu, 03/29/2012 - 5:57pm
Original West Central Tribune article by Tom Cherveny.
The Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers are striving to concoct the right recipe for rural economic development and energy independence. Their test kitchen is the small Renville County community of Franklin, population 475. A system designed to use fuel pellets produced from farm-grown biomass is heating City Hall, the fire hall, and a city shop building. West Central Minnesotans showed up at an event hosted by the Clean Energy Resource Teams to learn more about the project and how it could be replicated in their communities.
‘’The heat is wonderful,’’ City Administrator Wendy Pederson said. “We’re very, very happy with it so far.’’ She spoke Wednesday to a gathering of people hosted by the Clean Energy Resource Teams who had come to see the latest step toward building the region’s agricultural-...
Joel Haskard
Thu, 03/22/2012 - 2:50pm
April 25-27, hundreds of people will be gathering in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for the first annual Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass Conference & Expo, which will provide a unique opportunity to build momentum for biomass heating in the Midwest. CERTs is pleased to be part of the event as a co-sponsor.
The mission of Heating the Midwest is to advance biomass thermal heating in the Midwest for a more sustainable future, while improving the economic, environmental and social well-being of the region. Driven and directed by a steering committee, Heating the Midwest includes industry, government, non-profit organizations, university representatives and tribal representatives.
Attendees will gain valuable information on the following topics:
Biomass resource availability and processing
Thermal heating policy
Innovative and efficient combustion technologies
Biomass...
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...
Ann Schwartz
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 12:12pm
When we think of new sources of energy, we often look up at the sun or the wind. But some people decided to try looking down instead. Underground. In the sewers of Brainerd.
A study, financed by a state grant and carried out by Hidden Fuels of Brainerd, shows that energy available to cool and heat homes and public buildings in Brainerd flows through the sanitary system every day.
Area government officials and folks interest in energy solutions gathered recently at the Brainerd Public Utilities building to hear about results of an extensive study to find captured heat and cooling capacity in the sewers that run through Brainerd.
On January 25th, over 45 people gathered at a Central Region Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT) forum at Brainerd Public Utilities to hear about research into extracting energy from wastewater. Al Cibuzar, Jeff Aga, and Pete Nelson presented a study done by...
Jeff Vetsch
Mon, 02/27/2012 - 3:16pm
Over forty people gathered on Valentine’s Day at the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center for a West Central CERT networking event to share their love for clean energy, get to know each other better, and talk about past and future projects in the region.
Read more about the event as well as the energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that Prairie Woods has undertaken in these two articles by West Central Tribune’s Tom Cherveny:
Smaller, renewable energy projects setting roots across west central Minnesota
For Prairie Woods, energy goal is now a reality
“It was great to see a crowd enthused and engaged about energy conservation and renewable energy,” says Jeff Vetsch, coordinator for the West Central CERT. “We had people from so many walks of life—architects, teachers, bankers,...
Joel Haskard
Mon, 02/13/2012 - 3:59pm
Do you have a clean energy project in your community that could use the help of a talented University of Minnesota student? The Community Assistantship Program provides student research assistance to cities and organizations anywhere in greater Minnesota.
The Community Assistantship Program is pleased to announce a summer 2012 grant program. The grant will allow rural communities to hire a student to work on a project defined by those communities. The deadline for project proposals is March 15th, 2012. Approved projects will run from May 28th to August 26th, 2012.
Winning communities will review job applications and select the student who best meets their needs. Eligible organizations include community groups, organizations, and local governments outside the seven county metro.
Click here for more details and how to apply >>
What...
Dan Thiede
Thu, 02/09/2012 - 11:51am
An innovative education program centered on renewable energy and conservation is helping students in Northeastern Minnesota re-imagine our energy future—creating a model that can be used across the state.
Established as a pilot program in 2008, Energy Explosion dispels the myth that science education is boring, through a variety of activities specifically designed to get students involved and excited about the material. Some of these activities include student volunteers playing musical instruments such as an electric guitar with an amp and an electric keyboard powered by a photovoltaic (PV) solar array, a biodiesel generator, a small 400 Watt wind turbine, and an energy bike powered by one of their peers.
Energy Explosion classes take place both at the Nature Center and in the schools, by making use of a mobile energy education trailer named Electron.
“The mobility piece was a...
Pages
Clean Energy Resource Teams