Affiliate at a Glance
The Affiliate at a Glance column is written quarterly as a part of the Metro CERTs Newsletter
City of Oakdale
January 2012
The City of Oakdale has long been a leader for civic sustainability. Metro CERT has been working with Oakdale since the summer of 2008 when they joined as an affiliate. That fall we worked together when they participated in a pilot run by Center for Energy and Environment to use community-based social marketing to encourage residents to save energy with low and no cost actions. This pilot eventually led to the creation of a broader pilot, Energy Efficient Cities which is detailed in this report.
The City of Oakdale began its sustainability work by prioritizing efforts to reduce the city’s emissions of greenhouse gases. They started by measuring their energy footprint to understand their environmental impact and to better target where the city could reduce its energy use.
In the spring of 2009, the City of Oakdale applied for and received $400,000 from the federal government and United States Congress to complete much-needed energy efficiency improvements at the community’s Public Works and City Hall facilities. The funds were for projects that will reduce the City’s energy consumption, resulting in cost savings for taxpayers while also reducing the City’s overall carbon footprint.
A major upgrade to the Public Works facility was the installation of a geothermal pump system to heat and cool the building using the “free” energy source already available at the site via the adjacent water filtration station. Other energy efficiency upgrades include indoor lighting replacements, improved insulation, and replacing overhead doors with a higher R-value rated bay doors to reduce heat loss. The funding was also used to replace the 20-plus year old HVAC equipment at City Hall with energy-efficient units. The annual energy cost savings is estimated to total at least $10,000 per year between the two facilities, and will also eliminate hundreds of tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
After spending years working on reducing energy consumption, this fall the City decided to embark on a project to install a solar array on city hall. The 40 kW system was approved in October 2011 and will use panels from Minnesota-based tenKsolar. The city did take advantage of Xcel Energy’s Solar Rewards program and the Made in Minnesota rebate to reduce the overall cost of the installation. The City Hall system is estimated to produce approximately 53,000 kWh of electricity annually, which would save an average of $5,075 per year or $126,874 over the life of the system. This represents approximately 12% of the building’s average yearly consumption. Furthermore, annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions would be 49 tons.
The City of Oakdale is designated as a Step One GreenStep City and continues to take action through their Generation Green Programs to build a greener community and reduce their environmental footprint.
City of Falcon Heights
October 2011
The City of Falcon Heights is small but boasts two very large entities, The Minnesota State Fair and the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota (which would be more accurately named the Falcon Heights Campus). Falcon Heights is also “big” when it comes to thinking sustainably. In 2005, the city began exploring organized garbage collection through the Solid Waste Commission, and when that effort was rejected they took it as an opportunity to form a broader Environment Commission in 2006. The commission provided a forum in which to examine broader environmental issues, and includes seven volunteers and the Mayor, Peter Lindstrom, whom himself has a solar array at his home.
The city has made strides in a number of areas: lighting retrofits at City Hall incorporating motion detectors in lesser-used parts of the building, refurbished a city parking lot with permeable pavement and installing a rain garden to divert nearly all of their storm water from the sewer system. They also held rain barrel workshops and provided 75 barrels at a reduced cost for residents. While each of these accomplishments is significant in their own right, together with a number of other actions, earned Falcon Heights recognition as a Step Two GreenStep City in June 2011, the highest award in the first year of the program. City Councilwoman Beth Mercer-Taylor notes that GreenStep Cities “is the crowning jewel because it wraps everything together” as a set of specific actions and best practices for the city to implement.
Falcon Heights continues to strive to become a greener, more sustainable city. Some of the other opportunities they are considering include a solar installation at City Hall, encouraging local businesses to get energy audits of their buildings and creating ordinances for renewable energy projects to remove barriers and reflect community interests in city code.
East Side Neighborhood Development Company
July 2011
The East Side Neighborhood Development Company (ESNDC) is a non-profit community development corporation that works in community and human development. ESNDC has been working on Saint Paul’s East Side for 30 years, providing leadership and direction to effective community participation in the area’s development.
East Side Building BLOCKS (Business, Livability, Opportunity, Community, Knowledge, Sustainability) is a comprehensive redevelopment project that ESNDC is pursuing, and was funded as a Metro CERT seed grant project in 2010. The project evolved out of a long, committed engagement process, working with neighborhood stakeholders to create a future comprehensive vision for their community. The strategy incorporates new development, existing building rehab, resource conservation, and the addition of renewable energy. Redevelopment will include the residential, commercial, and public spaces within select blocks of the neighborhood in an effort to sustainably revive a struggling community.
ESNDC has been offering energy-saving programs for commercial and residential customers on the East Side through Neighborhood Energy Service and a business energy efficiency program. “Cutting costs by reducing energy usage is a great way for small businesses to improve their bottom line,” said Sam Hanson, former Sustainable Development Manager at ESNDC. “The more energy-efficient the business, the better chance they have at being successful long term. As these businesses become more sustainable, it makes for a healthier commercial corridor and a healthier neighborhood.” Stay tuned to the CERTs website for more information and a case study on the East Side Building BLOCKS project.
City of Maplewood
April 2011
The City of Maplewood started an environmental committee in 2004. In September of 2005 the Maplewood City Council adopted an Environmental and Natural Resources Commission ordinance and the committee became a full commission. The city has made some drastic improvements in their older buildings including new energy efficiency boilers, a new HVAC system, and indoor and outdoor lighting upgrades. They are also now looking at a renewable energy ordinance which will promote wind, solar and geothermal energy sources in the city. In 2006 the city formed a green team made up of staff who take time away from their regular jobs to assist the city in sustainability initiatives. The green team is led by Shann Finwall, environmental planner for the city. Shann will be working with the green team this year to implement several GreenStep Cities best practices. The Maplewood City Council authorized the city’s participation in the GreenStep Cities program in December 2010.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Commission has been working with Metro CERT and Xcel Energy to plan events to engage residents in Maplewood in efforts to reduce energy use and save money in their homes. Judith Johannessen, one of the commissioners, has organized a number of her neighbors to get a discount on Home Energy Squad visits offered by Xcel Energy through The Neighborhood Energy Connection. Judith states “The effort gave us an opportunity to meet neighbors and get to know each other. It really felt like we were part of a whole, and we have a greater sense of community spirit. Now a number of the neighbors want to look at opportunities for composting.” The city became a Metro CERT affiliate in September of 2010. Recently Metro CERT did a presentation for the green team that was filmed as part of the Spotlight on Maplewood cable show. This is the city’s monthly cable show which airs on Channel 16. The March and April edition of Spotlight on Maplewood will detail efforts by the city to promote energy efficiency and awareness by the actions the city takes, by the education the city promotes, and by the policies they adopt. Spotlight on Maplewood can be viewed on the Government Television website.
The Bakken Museum
January 2011
The Bakken, a museum of electricity and magnetism in Minneapolis, is devoted to educating the public about the role of electricity in our lives in every aspect from our own brain function to the inner workings of our televisions. Since its founding in the 1970s their mission has been to “inspire a passion for science and its potential good by helping people explore the history and nature of electricity and magnetism.” The Bakken has been a Metro CERT affiliate since the fall of 2009, joining the network with interest in doing a renewable energy technology exhibit at the museum. In the 2010 seed grant round, the Bakken was awarded a grant from Metro CERT to conduct a feasibility study for their newest exhibit on renewable energy.
The exhibit’s Master Plan envisions a series of stations throughout the Bakken building and grounds that showcase practical and aesthetic applications of sustainable electric power. As a preliminary piece of this greater exhibit, the museum wanted to install Green Energy Art Garden on their grounds. The grant project focused on a feasibility study for solar powered art stations as a priority component of the overall Green Energy exhibit concept. For more information on this project, please see the CERTs case study.
Transfiguration Church and School
October 2010
“We think this will be just the beginning of solar at Transfiguration,” says Matt Ledvina regarding the 40 kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) solar array installed on Transfiguration Catholic Church and School in Oakdale, Minnesota. Transfiguration will lease the panels from Solar Flow, a Twin Cities solar installer, which breaks up the cost into affordable monthly payment (close to their energy savings) and allows the project to utilize federal tax credits since Transfiguration can’t as a non-profit.
On Transfiguration, Solar Flow is installing tenKsolar panels, made in Bloomington, Minnesota. These panels are unique because they use reflecting panels in addition to the PV to concentrate the sunlight, increasing the electricity production.
Transfiguration is finishing up the project by fundraising to build a small solar learning station for the school. Since neither the insurance company nor parents like elementary students climbing on the roof, the learning center will connect the renewable energy being produced on the roof to the classroom, with live monitoring of how much energy is being produced and photos of the installation.
Check out more info about our Metro CERT affiliate Transfiguration, the solar installer Solarflow Energy, and the Minnesota made solar panels from tenKsolar.
Women’s Environmental Institute
July 2010
The Women’s Environmental Institute (WEI) is a non-profit organization focused on creating and sharing knowledge about environmental issues and policies relevant to women, children and identified communities especially affected by environmental injustices.
WEI has been a Metro CERT affiliate since 2008 and received a seed grant this year to develop and evaluate renewable energy heat sources for the greenhouses that are part of the Little Earth of United Tribes Urban Farm Center.
The Little Earth Urban Farm is a demonstration project for eventual expansion to other parts of Phillips community and beyond. Instead of relying on traditional electricity to heat the greenhouses, the project will evaluate the possibility of obtaining all or some of the energy from passive solar and heat generated by compost piles inside the greenhouses.
The seed grant funding will be used to pay for compost/vermiculture training, neighborhood outreach and organizing, labor to build the greenhouse, constructing and maintaining the compost piles, and stipends for youth apprentices. To see the development of the project from an empty lot to a flourishing farm, check out their video!
The City of Edina Energy and Environment Commission
April 2010
The City of Edina is one of five Metro cities piloting the GreenStep Cities program with the PCA and Urban Land Institute Minnesota before CERTs and the GreenStep Cities Steering Committee officially launch the program in June at the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference in St. Cloud. The six-month pilot project is being managed by Urban Land Institute Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The GreenStep Cities program is an action-oriented voluntary program offering a cost-effective, simple pathway leading to implementation of best practices that focus on greenhouse gas reduction.
In Edina, the Energy & Environment Commission (EEC- a Metro CERT affiliate) is spearheading the city’s effort along with Edina Assistant Manager, Heather Worthington. The city needs to choose eight mandatory best practices and seven optional ones if it desires to seek future GreenStep Cities designation. The EEC is currently assigning a different Commissioner for each of the best practice actions and evaluating each of the steps for ease of implementation. They will report back in June about their analysis of the steps and make a recommendation to the City Council for enrollment into the GreenStep Program. The City has already completed two of the best practice actions AND Commissioners are busy working on several others!
For more information about the GreenStep Cities Program go to www.MNGreenSteps.org or the Urban Land Institute Minnesota pilot go to http://minnesota.uli.org.
St. Anthony Park Community Council
October 2009
The St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul is serving as the first stop for the new Metro CERT program Neighborhood Energy Service. This unique program starts with an energy efficiency workshop and is followed by an individual home visit including simple energy efficiency steps. Over the course of the fall, at least 100 households in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood will be expected to participate.
“With so much momentum towards neighborhood sustainability right now, this is another great step toward reaching our goal,” said SAPCC executive director Amy Sparks. “People need to hear the message over and over. If you provide the info at the right time, they’ll make changes.”
For more information, visit the St. Anthony Park Community Council at http://www.sapcc.org
St. Paul District 10 Como Community Council
July 2009
The District 10 Como Community Council, which is now a Metro CERTs affiliate, is a nonprofit organization made up of elected, volunteer residents and community organizing staff that serve the Como neighborhood of St. Paul. Metro CERTs partnered with the District 10 Environment Committee in February of this year to hold a workshop on home energy efficiency upgrades. The committee is in the midst of a pilot program, named CHEEP (Como Park Home Energy Efficiency Program), for energy and money savings, and is also developing a baseline of data so they can document the savings.
CHEEP kicked off with opening workshops for resident-participants in the home of neighborhood leader, CHEEP volunteer, and engineer at the Energy Conservatory, Betti Iwanski. The workshops presented a data table to each participant displaying the energy use in his/her home, and gave an overview of possible actions to take in order to improve their home’s energy efficiency.
“The motivation (for CHEEP) is global climate change, rising energy costs and energy insecurity,” said Iwanski. “My inspiration came from Stephan Tanner who introduced me to the Passive Haus Standards, a framework for deep energy use reduction in houses. It resonates with me because it starts out with what the earth can handle in terms of CO2 emissions, and in turn, how humans can sustain.”
CHEEP uses this standard to create a performance goal for the home, with the end result being better air quality, less dust and fewer insects in the house, all while maintaining style and improving comfort.
“Once I visited a Passive Haus, I knew I had to help everyone have one—much lower energy bills and comfort that I did not imagine possible,” explained Iwanski, who will be discussing the project goal with participants in July. “They are the heart of the success of our program—we need them to tell us what matters, what works and what will continue to help improve our process and outcomes.”
To learn more about the District 10 Community Council, visit their webpage at http://www.comopark.org. If you’d like to hear more about the pilot program, contact Betti Iwanski at biwanski@comcast.net or Jess Roberts at jproberts89@hotmail.com.
Shoreview Sierra Club Green Community
April 2009
The Shoreview Sierra Club Green Community has been active at the grassroots level for a number of years, connecting the community to environmental resources, reducing fossil fuel reliance, expanding recycling options, and promoting renewable energy. Recently, the group went door-to-door in the Shoreview community explaining and distributing applications for Xcel Energy’s WindSource program. Club member Terry Brunmeier explained with pride that the group had been able to track significant increase in the number of communities signed on to WindSource in the immediate months following their effort.
Metro CERTs and the Shoreview Green Community recently supported an energy contest called “Beat Betty” at SummerHouse, a senior living facility in Shoreview. On March 23, CERTs recognized those residents that had made the greatest energy savings during the month of February. Resident Natalie Holle took the top prize, as she was able to save 25% on her monthly gas bill. Natalie gave all of the credit to her son’s excellent job shrinkwrapping her patio door, which she believes was the major source of heat loss in her unit. She joked, “I gave my son the prize because he spent the time and money on shrinkwrapping.”
Key to the success of the SummerHouse workshop was the cooperation of the property manager Bill Callen. When asked what had changed in SummerHouse between February 2008 and 2009, he provided a laundry list of energy efficiency measures that he had undertaken to cut costs and support the residents interested in energy conservation. Bill now keeps a stash of flourescent bulbs and other efficiency tools available on demand for his tenants. “I would certainly recommend the steps taken at SummerHouse to any other senior living facility,” Bill said.
Read the Metro CERT case study on SummerHouse:
Enthusiasm and Cooperation Pay Off: Saving Energy at SummerHouse
The Shoreview Green Community is now a Metro CERTs Affiliate Group. For more information visit their website, or email Susan Rengstorf at srengstorf@comcast.net.
Phillips Community Energy Co-op
January 2009
The Phillips Community Energy Co-op (PCEC) is an urban energy co-op working to significantly lower energy costs and increase the use of clean energy throughout the Phillips community in South Minneapolis. The PCEC is committed to bringing affordable energy-efficient products and services to Phillips community renters, homeowners, landlords, and small businesses. Together, PCEC members and staff work to democratize the energy industry, demand better customer service from local utilities, promote cleaner and safer energy production, and make the community a healthier place to live and work.
Recently, the PCEC has been working to educate the Phillips neighborhood on home weatherization through workshops. Collaborating with organizations like the Twin Cities Experimental College, Waite House Community Center, the Midtown Farmer’s Market, and various Phillips neighborhood groups, the PCEC has trained over one hundred people on basic home weatherization measures. The group has signed up over 700 of its members for the Minnesota Energy Challenge, making the PCEC the top Environmental Energy Challenge team, made possible through a City of Minneapolis Climate Change Innovation grant.
“This grant was an excellent opportunity for us to pilot a new program at the energy cooperative that addressed energy issues for our membership, primarily renters who are often most burdened by high heating bills,” said Julia Eagles, project manager at the PCEC. “Our members have pledged to save a total of 1,504,860 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions and $131,778!”
The Phillips Community Energy Co-op is currently a Metro CERTs Affiliate Group. For more information, visit http://www.phillipsenergycoop.com or email Julia Eagles at jeagles@phillipsenergycoop.com
Longfellow Community Council
October 2008
This fall, Metro CERTs is working in partnership with the Center for Energy and Environment on their pilot project in the Longfellow Neighborhood of Minneapolis (and the city of Oakdale). The program will help demonstrate the effectiveness of low-cost measures and behavior change on residential energy use. The pilot recruited participants on a block level and used workshops, free materials and home visits to engage residents in changing their energy use habits.
The Longfellow Community Council is now a Metro CERTs Affiliate Group. For more information, visit http://www.longfellow.org or email Joanna Solotaroff at joanna@longfellow.org
Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative
July 2008
The Mahtomedi Area Green Intiative, MAGI, is a group of citizens who came together in December 2006 to initiate and carry out activities to reduce carbon-emitting energy use, pursue and acquire renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and encourage an enduring community commitment to sustainability. Activities to date include participating in two community Earth Day fairs, holding a town hall forum on energy issues, exploring opportunities for wind generation, developing strategies for promoting bicycling, submitting sustainability content to the community newspaper, and publicizing local environmental activities and events.
Recently, MAGI demonstrated its value as a connector and facilitator when it helped the city of Mahtomedi successfully compete for a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency grant to complete a carbon footprint analysis for muncipal facilities and activities. The city had previously signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, appointed an environmental commission to advise the city on matters of sustainability, and joined ICLEI, but did not have the time or resources to complete a carbon footprint survey on its own. MAGI volunteers enlisted Century College as a collaborator, developed the grant proposal, and are now helping to coordinate the project.
“As the city moves forward in achieving its environmental and sustainable initiatives, MAGI is a valuable partner and resource,” says Mahtomedi city administrator Scott Neilson.
MAGI is currently a Metro CERTs Affiliate Group. For more information on MAGI, contact Paul Hoff at magi-connect@usfamily.net
Linden Hills Power & Light
April 2008
What brings neighbors together more than anything on a cold night in February? Trash Talk of course!
Linden Hills Power & Light (a group of neighbors working together to reduce their community’s carbon footprint) is bringing people together, encouraging neighbors to reduce their waste, compost and have fun!
“We expected about ten people to show up – it was 30 below, it was the first night of American Idol and there was also a lunar eclipse,” said Felicity Britton, Executive Director of LHP&L. “We were completely humbled and ecstatic when 50 of our neighbors turned out to learn how to get others in Linden Hills excited about the project. We’re calling them our Compost Captains- the trouble is, now they all want captains hats.”
What is compostable?
Food Scraps including fruit and vegetable peelings, meat, leftovers, etc. Paper products (that you’re not currently recycling), such as tissues, paper towels, egg cartons, egg shells, soda boxes, paper plates, pizza boxes; wax containers such as milk cartons, and packing from fridge and freezer products.
The City of Minneapolis has approved a pilot curbside collection of compostable items for the Linden Hills neighborhood. Once signed up, residents will receive a 65 gallon green “organics” cart that will be wheeled down to the curb along with their normal bin on collection day. On this day, the city will take both the compostable garbage (green cart) along with the non-compostable garbage.
For more information about Linden Hills Power & Light go to www.lhpowerandlight.org or email info@lhpowerandlight.org
Clean Energy Resource Teams