Clean Energy Resource Teams

The January 2007 CERTs Conference, Local Energy/Local Opportunities, featured many knowledgeable speakers who discussed topics from biodiesel to community wind development to green buildings. To view pdfs of the PowerPoint presentations from the conference breakout sessions, please scroll down and click on the titles of different talks. View the conference events page to learn more about past and upcoming conferences.

View an overview of the agenda

Welcome & Opening Plenary Session | 9:00-10:45am

• Welcome – Lola Schoenrich, The Minnesota Project, Energy Program Director & Lissa Pawlisch, UMN RSDP, CERTs Coordinator
• Community Energy, a Clean Energy Future – Alexis Karolides, AIA – Rocky Mountain Institute, Breakthrough Design Team, Principal
• Perspectives on Minnesota’s Clean Energy Future – Don Shelby, WCCO News, Anchor

Five Breakout Sessions | 11:15am-12:15pm

• Community-Wide Energy Efficiency Projects
  • Moderator – Okey Ukaga, UMN Northeast RSDP, Executive Director
  • Strategies for Community-Wide Energy Efficiency – Judy Thommes, CEE, Marketing Manager
  • Winona County Sustainability Effort – Anne Morse, Winona County Environmental Services, Environmental Specialist, Annika Gunderson, Cotter Senior High student & Camille Nicholson, Winona Senior High student
  • St. Paul: A History of Action – Anne Hunt, Mayor Chris Coleman’s Office, Deputy Policy Director

• Congregation Energy Projects
  • Moderator – Linda Kingery, _UMN Northwest RSDP, Executive Director
  • Engaging Congregations on Renewables and Energy Efficiency – Sean Gosiewski, Alliance for Sustainability, Executive Director

• Small-Scale Wind at Home and on Farm
  • Moderator – Lissa Pawlisch, _UMN RSDP, CERTs Coordinator
  • Planning Your Small Wind Project – Brian Antonich, Windustry, Small Wind Program Analyst
  • A Small Wind Odyssey – Robert Meyerson, Kandiyohi County Agribusiness/Renewable Energy Development Committee
  • Working With Your Utility – Al Haman, STAR Energy Services

• Biomass Heating Alternatives
  • Moderator – Linda Ulland – UMN Central RSDP, Executive Director
  • Biomass Heating Overview – Shalini Gupta, Izaak Walton League Midwest Office, Senior Energy Associate
  • Repowering 100 Year Old District Heating in Virginia Hibbing – Gary Cerkvenik, Laurentian Energy Authority, Project Consultant
  • Experiences of Using a Corn-Fired Boiler in a Public Building – Norman Krause, Central Lakes College, Central Lakes Ag Center, Director

• Commercializing New Technology
  • Moderator – Jim Steenerson, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Grants Specialist
  • Commercialization of Microgasification Technology – Darren Schmidt, P.E., UND EERC, Research Manager and Certified Energy Manager, Biomass Power
  • Use of Biomass Gasification to Replace Natural Gas in a Corn Ethanol Plant – Dan Benson, Chippewa Valley Agrafuels Cooperative, Board of Directors
  • Commercializing Research: From the Lab to Steel – Todd Reubold, UMN IREE, Assistant Director

Five Breakout Sessions | 1:15-2:15pm

• Community-Wide Renewable Energy Systems
  • Moderator – Dorothy Rosemeier – UMN West Central RSDP, Executive Director
  • University of Minnesota Renewable Energy Research and Demonstration Center – Mike Reese, UMN West Central Research & Outreach Center, Director, Renewable Energy
  • Renewable Energy Efforts in Kandiyohi County – Wes Hompe, Willmar Municipal Utilities, Staff Electrical Engineer
  • Creating a Sustainable Community Energy System in Northfield – Bruce Anderson, Sustainable Community Solutions

• School Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects
  • Moderator – Doug Karnuth, Schools for Energy Efficiency and Hallberg Engineering
  • Proctor Schools – Focusing on Earth Education – Diane Rauschenfels, Proctor Public Schools, Superintendent
  • Saving Energy in Our Schools – Nancy Johnson, Cambridge Isanti School District, Energy Efficiency Coordinator

• Solar, Solar and More Solar
  • Moderator – Stacy Miller, Minnesota Department of Commerce, State Programs Administrator
  • Living with Solar Electric – David Boyce, Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, Chair
  • Solar Space Heating in Low-Income Homes – Sarah Hayden, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, Acting Director
  • Solar by Design – Nolita Christensen, Happy Dancing Turtle, Interim Executive Director

• On-Farm and Community Digesters
  • Moderator – Amanda Bilek, The Minnesota Project, Energy Program Associate
  • On Farm Digesters in the Midwest – Amanda Bilek
  • Off-Farm Uses for Methane Produced On-Farm – Dr. Wayne Hansen, AURI, Project Specialist
  • Opportunity for Renewable Energy Production in Livestock Operations – Cecil Massie, Sebesta Blomberg & Associates, Senior Process Engineer

• Green Buildings
  • Moderator – Warren Hanson, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, President
  • Minnesota Green Communities Initiative – Making All Affordable Housing Green by 2010 – Warren Hanson
  • Greener by Design – Bob McLean, Hunt Utilities Group, Chief Operating Officer
  • Waldsee BioHaus Saving 85% of Annual Energy Costs in Bemidji, Minnesota – Warren Schulze, Concordia Language Villages, Assistant Director of Facilities

Five Breakout Sessions | 2:30-3:30pm

• How to Start a CERT in Your Community
  • Moderator – Joel Haskard, UMN RSDP, Assistant CERTs Coordinator
  • Making CERTs Local – Marvin Rothfusz, PREACT-McLeod County, Coordinator
  • Experiences of a Local CERT – Ward Lutz, OlmCERT, Coordinator

• Local Government Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects
  • Moderator – Annette Bair, SRDC, Physical Development Director, and SW CERT Coordinator
  • Blue Earth County’s Green Building Initiatives – Katy Wortel, Blue Earth County Commissioner
  • Utility Scale Wind Turbine in Winona County – Anne Morse, Winona County Environmental Services, Environmental Specialist
  • Addressing Global Warming in Duluth – Sandy Sweeney, City of Duluth, Energy Manager

• Saving Energy at Home
  • Moderator – Bruce Nelson, Minnesota Department of Commerce State Energy Office, Senior Engineer
  • Ten Ways to Save Energy in Your Home – Terry Webster, Minnesota Department of Commerce State Energy Office, Information Officer
  • Energy Efficiency on the Farm – Steve Kosbab, Great River Energy, Member Services

• Community Biofuels Projects
  • Moderator – Erin Tegtmeier, Experiment in Rural Cooperation, Director
  • Biodiesel Microbrewery – Jeffrey Baldridge, Green Range Renewable Energy, Partner
  • From Field to Fuel Tank – Kim Odden, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Farm, Business and Production Management Instructor

• Locally Owned Utility-Scale Wind Development
  • Moderator – Denny Timmerman, AURI, Project Development Director, Southwest Region
  • Developing a Utility Scale Project – Key Issues and Considerations – Mark Lindquist, The Minnesota Project, Energy Policy Specialist
  • Community Wind Tool Box – Lisa Daniels, Windustry, Executive Director
  • Perspectives from a Locally-Owned Project – Local Wind Project Owner

Legislative Forum: Community Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency | 3:40-5:00pm

• Kerri Miller (Moderator) – Host of MPR Midmorning Program & Political Analyst for Fox 9 News
• Senator Ellen Anderson (DFL) District 66, St. Paul
• Representative Al Juhnke (DFL) District 13B, Willmar
• Representative Kathy Tingelstad (R) District 49B, Andover
• Mike Bull – Assistant Commissioner Renewable Energy and Advanced Technologies, Minnesota Department of Commerce