Clean Energy Resource Teams

On October 15th, 2008 from 1:30–3:30pm the Office of Energy Security hosted a webinar on the kickoff of Phase II of the DRG Study.

During the Phase II Webinar, study team lead Jared Alholinna of Great River Energy and Matt Schuerger of the MN Office of Energy Security gave a presentation reviewing the DRG Phase I report to the MN Public Utilities Commission and the steps forward that Phase II will be taking.

Phase I of the DRG study assessed how 600MW of renewable energy could be constructed without building new transmission. Phase II of the DRG study will be assessing the potential of adding another 600MW (or more), for a total of 1200MW of new clean energy.

Cross-posted from Center for American Progress

In The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, acclaimed activist and environmental leader Van Jones tackles the challenges of oil dependence, a sagging economy, and global warming itself, transforming these looming threats into enormous financial opportunities.

Jones gives voice to a different kind of environmentalism, one deeply rooted in the lives and struggles of ordinary people. It’s not about green consumers; it’s about green workers and bringing the environmental movement to the working class. The message of The Green Collar Economy is clear: “Give the work that most needs to be done to the people who most need the work,” solving two pressing problems—pollution and poverty—at once. In turn, you provide people with not just a paycheck, but also a purpose. Like FDR’s New Deal, Jones’s plan involves the government putting people to work for the benefit of the economy. In this “New Green Deal,” workers will be employed to install solar panels, harness wind power, build hybrid engines, etc., which will create a green collar workforce.

On August 19th the Southeast Clean Energy Resource Team toured two green landmarks in the Twin Cities: The Green Institute’s Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center Building in Minneapolis and District Energy in St. Paul. Let me take a few moments to share with you what we learned!

Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center

 
From 1:30-2:30pm our group toured The Green Institute’s Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center. The Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center (PEEC) is The Green Institute’s flagship and a national model of comprehensive sustainable design. The building was a pilot for and helped inform the creation of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC’s LEED), which has in the last ten years risen within the green building movement as the preeminent national green building standard.

In April 2008, the Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) received over 90 submissions for this year’s Request for Proposals to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This represents nearly a twofold increase in the amount of proposals submitted for spring of 2008, and attests to the tremendous wealth of clean energy projects happening in communities across the state.

Each of the six greater Minnesota steering committees (NE, NW, Central, WC, SW, SE) reviewed the proposals submitted in their region, and through a rigorous process selected 37 projects that highlight a variety of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. CERTs staff wish to commend our steering committee members for all the hard work and many hours of volunteer time they put into this effort.

On Monday, June 16, 2008 from 1-3pm The Minnesota Department of Commerce gave a web seminar on the Phase 1 results of their Minnesota Dispersed Renewable Generation (DRG) Study. The purpose of the webinar was to inform the public of the first phase results, key findings, and conclusions. The study team gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the DRG Phase I report to the MN Public Utilities Commission.

This blog post should allow you to:
1. Understand Dispersed Generation
2. Watch and listen to the DG webinar presentation
3. Get a summary of important slides
4. Learn how to get more info and provide comments on the Study

 
The Metro CERTs Network Kick-off on April 15th was attended by over 200 people, from elected officials to community members—and everyone in between! It was held at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, where the main room was buzzing with conversation.

There was good energy, and many great connections made. “It was a very well done get together and I think very beneficial to everyone. You did a great job,” said Ruth Keely. Brian Flanagan felt much the same way: “Great venue last night. Good group of people—excellent for networking. The Food was outstanding; I hope you have more get togethers!” We even dubbed the King and Queen of networking, Beth Bennett and John Dunlop.