Clean Energy Resource Teams

Statewide | Central | Metro | Northeast | Northwest | Southeast | Southwest | West Central

Statewide

 
Minnesota Ranked 7th for Energy Efficiency! With the rapid increase of energy prices, states are turning to energy efficiency as a reliable source for the future. In this scorecard, released by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is the ranking of all U.S. states including the District of Columbia and the state’s score on their adoption and implementation of energy efficient policies and programs. The Scorecard examines eight state energy policy areas; the utility-sector and public benefits programs and policies, transportation policies, building energy codes, combined heat and power, appliance efficiency standards, lead by example in state facilities and fleets, research, development and deployment, and financial and information incentives. Learn more here.

Energy Smart Program from MN Chamber of Commerce: Energy Smart is designed to improve Minnesotas business’ energy efficiency and reduce spending. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has launched Energy Smart, a statewide initiative intended to help businesses save money and increase energy efficiency through conservation programs. Energy costs consume a large portion of most business’ annual operating costs and with the help of Energy Smart those annual costs can be greatly reduced. Energy Smart connects businesses with current Conservation Improvement Programs (CIPs) offered by the state’s utilities and other resources. These sources will analyze a company’s energy usage, efficiency upgrade options, potential cost savings and available financial incentives. Energy Smart aims at providing businesses with the information and tools needed to make knowledgeable decisions about their energy use, efficiency upgrade options, potential cost savings and available financial incentives. For an overview of the program and a copy of the article please click here. For further information about the program, businesses should contact Jill Curran, Energy Smart program manager, at 651-292-4653 or jcurran@mnchamber.com, or visit the Web site at www.MNEnergySmart.com.

DRG Study, Phase II Webinar: For an overview of the October 15th Dispersed Renewable Generation Study, Phase II Webinar, check out the CERTs blog post by Kai Bosworth at the Minnesota Project.

Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon: With this program you can save your school money and reduce your carbon footprint! The program is focused on helping schools reduce carbon in two ways: (1) Supporting carbon-cutting student-led projects; (2) Improving school building operations and maintenance. Learn More >>

CERTs 2009 Conference Participant Registration Now Open: You won’t want to miss the Third Biennial Statewide CERTs Conference, Harnessing Resources & Teamwork for Minnesota’s Energy Future, February 10-11, 2009 in St. Cloud. Register now for earlybird rates! Click here to learn more >>

Central Region

 
Teaming Up to Combat Fuel Poverty in Central Minnesota: With energy costs on the rise and low-income families feeling the greatest pressure, the Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council and the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance are teaming up to weatherize homes and install solar heat systems, with a little help from the Central Clean Energy Resource Team. Click here to read Dan Thiede’s excellent blog post on this partnership!

Metro Region

 
Solar panels will be installed in two Metro locations to charge HourCars: The Office of Energy Security has partnered with the Neighborhood Energy Connection (NEC) to install 2 kW of solar PV at two Twin Cities sites for NEC’s HourCar car sharing program. Each 2 kW PV system is expected to produce enough energy to offset the electricity required to run the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicles stationed at Mississippi Market in Saint Paul and the 46th Street Light Rail Station in Minneapolis. The fuel economy of the vehicles is approximately 3-6 miles per kWh, depending on driving conditions. This project also supports the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Solar America Cities effort. The PV installations were completed by Best Power, International. Read more at MPR: HourCar offers solar powered cars.

Metro CERTs Steering Committee Established: On October 3rd the first steering committee of the Metro CERT region met. The group includes Lissa Pawlisch (CERTs), Chris Gilchrist (Office of Energy Security), Neely Crane-Smith (Center for Energy and the Environment), Sean Gosiewski (Alliance for Sustainability), Tony Hainault (Hennepin County), Lola Schoenrich (Great Plains Institute), Philipp Muessig (MPCA), Chris Duffrin (Neighborhood Energy Connection), Paul Hoff (Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative), and Jennifer McLoughlin (City of Woodbury). We had a great discussion and set some key areas for the Metro CERTs to focus on, including residential energy use, working with schools, renewable energy (especially solar in the Metro), and reducing energy from transportation. We will also ask Metro CERTs affiliates to appoint a member of the steering committee if they would like to, to more closely resemble the structure in other CERTs regions.

Oakdale Residential Energy Efficiency Pilot Project: The Metro CERT joined forces on a second residential community energy project being led by The Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) in the city of Oakdale. Like the pilot in the Longfellow Neighborhood of Minneapolis the pilot program is to demonstrate the effectiveness of low–cost measures and behavior change on residential energy use. The pilot will recruit participants on a block level and will use workshops, free materials and home visits to engage residents in changing their energy use habits. We hope to have results and information to share in the coming months.

Midtown Farmers Market—Energy Day: On October 18, Metro CERT worked with Metro CERTs affiliate Phillips Community Energy Co-op to co-host the Minneapolis Midtown Farmer’s Market Energy Day. We signed patrons up for the MN energy challenge, gave out information to encourage reducing energy use and hosted a residential energy expert to answer questions about home energy use.

New Green Institute Staff: The Green Institute is happy to announce the addition of Nancy Kelly to our staff. Nancy started on October 27th as our new Community Energy Project Coordinator. Nancy is an engineer and will bring technical depth to Green Institute’s work on biomass and energy conservation. In addition to being a former power plant engineer, Nancy has most recently focused on energy efficiency as senior engineer at the MN Technical Assistance Program. Nancy will help the CERT measure our success saving energy and putting more clean kilowatts on the grid. Welcome Nancy!

Minneapolis house gets platinum LEED certification: A house in Minneapolis is the first newly constructed home in Minnesota to get the highest possible rating for sustainability. See the MPR story here.

Northeast Region

 
Update from NE CERT Coordinator Bill Mittlefehldt (Go Bill!):

• Bill presented with business partner Community GIS to Minnesota Power and suggested they use Googlemapping software to connect interested partners in the annual Energy Design Conference.
• He worked with Chuck Hartley at LHB to connect Ely, Silver Bay and Grand Marais with his expertise as an Energy Manager
• He assisted local teams in Ely and Silver Bay seeking MPCA grants for Sustainable Communities.
• He provided leadership and support for the second Twin Ports Interfaith initiative on Global Warming Conference
• He presented at the annual meeting of the Whole Foods Coop to explore energy and climate impacts on local food production in Grand Marais.

Cleaner Energy Cleaner Duluth: This documentary film put together by Northeast CERT steering committee member Wendy Grethen highlights nine businesses and organizations in the Duluth area that are taking steps to move toward a clean energy future. Watch it online now, and spread the word!.

Northwest Region

 
NW CERT Tour: On October 20th members of the NW CERT visited a solar hot air installation in East Grand Forks and learned about smart metering that East Grand Forks Water & Light. Click here to see meeting notes and view a TV broadcast of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) installing the system. For the Power Point presentation about the smart metering that EGFW&L has in place, click here.

Green Building Mini-Conference: Student, homeowners, businesses-owners, and building-contractors from northwestern Minnesota gathered at the Bremer Bank in Warren to attend a Green Building Mini-Conference on September 20th. The conference was sponsored by Marvin Windows and Bremer Bank and was hosted by Dovetail Partners (non-profit organization) and the Warren Economic Development Authority (WEDA). The conference was part of an effort to bring green building resources to the rural area and enhance local economic development. Attendees learned about sustainable building techniques and shared personal experiences with their green efforts. The conference involved an on-site energy assessment of a local resident’s home as a demonstration for residents. The conference also examined the importance of using local materials as an environmentally friendly method, and the importance of local economy. For further information on the conference and environmentally friendly future projects for the area, read this article from the IATP Forestry Center.

Southeast Region

 
SE CERT Tour: The Southeast CERT Tour was hosted by Dr. James Dontje at Gustavus Adolphus’ Melva Lind Interpretive Center. Dr. Dontje showed the group a nearby solar thermal installation at a 100-year old farmstead that was done with evacuated tubes and will provide both hot water and space heating. Dr. Dontje brings a tremendous amount of knowledge to Gustavus and the Region 9 Energy Task Force, and CERT is happy to be partially funding a solar thermal system at the Lind Center to be installed later this year. Following the tour, there was a discussion of additional renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives in the south central Minnesota region.

Think Green Sustainability Fair: The first annual Think Green Sustainability Fair was held on Saturday, October 18th, in Rochester with workshops, speakers and exhibitors. The event was organized in partnership with the Women’s Expo, drawing many people new to the concept of sustainability to the event. Southeast CERTS participated with its exhibit.

ARTech Installs First Solar Panels: ARTech, a 6-12 charter school focused on arts and technology in Northfield, MN, celebrated the installation of its first PV solar panel on October 24th. Students at the school were responsible for researching PV and technology options, grant writing, fundraising, and much of the actual installation. The school received a $5000 mini-grant from Southeast CERTS that launched the $30,000 project. SE CERT chairman Larry Landherr and SE CERT coordinator Susan Waughtal attended the celebration. “It was gratifying to see an entire school of innovative thinkers and doers who are making the future happen NOW. Innovation is the key to future energy independence,” Larry said.

Mankato Looking Toward Wind Power, Cautiously: Mankato’s Mayor recently signed the Minnesota Mayor’s Climate Commitment, and doesn’t want that to be an empty promise. The city is considering wind power, but want to weigh its options. With increasing demand for small, locally-owned wind turbines in Southeast Minnesota, it is becoming harder for small organizations and towns to obtain a turbine and get it installed, reports a recent article in Mankato’s Free Press. Click here to read the full story.

Northfield: Carbon-free by ’33: This summer the City of Northfield (pop. 19,413) in Rice Co. released an energy action plan with the goal of completely reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 2033. The 70-page document, With Hope: A Resilient Community—An Action Plan for Northfield Area Energy Sustainability, is packed with background information, resources, and action steps to meet Northfield’s aggressive targets: Northfield and its surrounding, partnering townships aim to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions of 15% by 2013, 50% by 2028, and 100% by 2033. Click here to read more.

Southwest Region

 
MISO Reform: On Monday September 22, the RMEB hosted a presentation about the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) Queue Reform Proposal. The reform is addressing bottlenecks in the energy queue process and will have the ability to fast track projects that have little to no constraints in the proposed area. On November 3rd, this new process will be implemented.

Next RMEB Meeting: The next meeting of the RMEB will be November 23rd and will feature a presentation on the Phase 2 DRG Study (Sweetspot Study).

West Central Region

 
Morris Biomass Gasification Plant: On October 3rd the University of Minnesota Morris dedicated its new biomass gasification plant. The plant promises to provide more than 80 percent of the campus’ heating and cooling needs; burning 9,000 tons of renewable fuel every year with biomass including corn stover, small grain straw, and wood chips. By next spring the campus hopes to have designed and installed an absorption chiller into the gasification unit to power the campus air conditioners. Cheri Olf, director of education and program manager of the higher education committee was presented with the ACORE campus excellence award. Olf notes that this new facility represents the highest level of commitment that institutions of higher education can make to renewable energy. A video segment produced by the News Service on the facility and UMM’s sustainability efforts can be viewed at Biomass Dedication. More information regarding the gasification facility and the future sustainability plans for the UMM campus can be found in this article. To watch a video on UMM’s efforts, click here.

WC CERT Tour: On October 16th over 45 people with the WC CERT toured the medium-sized biomass gasifier at Morris, mentioned above, then the small gasifier at Beyer’s Carwash & Laundromat, and finally the large-scale biomass gasifier at the Central Valley Ethanol Cooperative in Benson. The meeting summary will be on the CERTs website soon.

Kandiyohi County’s Preliminary Approval of Meadow Star Dairy: On Tuesday, October 14th, a preliminary nod of approval was presented to the proposed Meadow Star Dairy in Kandiyohi County by a unanimous vote from the Planning Commission. Based off research from the past six years the project is focused on enhancing livestock agriculture in the county and will follow the model of Riverview Dairy of Morris. The proposed site is located approximately two miles southwest of Pennock in Section 8 of St. John’s Township, on a 160 acre fourth-generation family farm. The dairy operation intends to house 9,590 dairy cows and anticipates milking 4,754 cows twice a day by October of next year. During the meeting Brady Janzen of Riverview Farms provided details on synthetic basin covers, bio-filters and an anaerobic methane digester that would be used at Meadow Star Dairy to help improve air quality at the plant. The methane digester intends to generate enough green electricity to power the dairy operation and the entire town of Pennock, said Kim Larson, a member of the Meadow Star LLP. Although the October 14th hearing received the preliminary approval, the outcome is pending upon the Kandiyohi County Board which will make the final decision on October 21st. If the Board decides is in favor, the large dairy operation’s preliminary groundwork could begin as early as this fall. For more information on the meeting and a copy of the article, click here.

Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company: Corn Cobs as Biomass Fuel: The Chippewa Valley Ethanol Plant in Benson conducted it’s first of three harvests on October 16th, during which corn cobs were collected as fuel source for the ethanol plant during traditional corn harvesting methods. The Fosso family farm hosted the first harvest; as a member of the coop their farm is a site for the first-of-its-kind project in the region. The project is made possible by an awarded $250,000 grant to CVEC and the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center to find the most efficient method of harvesting corn cobs while simultaneously harvesting corn. At the Fosso farm two different means of harvesting machinery were demonstrated. The first combine towed a pull-behind Vermeer CCX770 Cob Harvester and the second had a Ceres Ag Residue Recover System mounted to it piggyback to collect the corn cobs. The corn cobs will be tested as biomass fuel at the nearby Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company. CVEC currently powers numerous operations at its 47 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant by feeding wood chips to the gasifier. Following more than four months of trial use, the gasifier proved able to displace rough 25 percent of the natural gas used by the plant. The goal is to someday have biomass replace 75-90 percent of the natural gas at the plant’s operations. Should the project prove successful CVEC would like corn cobs raised by its members to become the biomass fuel of choice, so they may pay their farmer members and circulate the money at home. Read more about the project in the West Central Tribune or in Biomass Magazine.