News

The workshops during the 2014-2015 GreenStep Workshop Series covered a wide range of topics that are important to cities, providing a wealth of information and resources.

CERTs is a proud partner of Midwest Energy News’ recently launched 40 Under 40 Award program that seeks to highlight emerging leaders throughout the region who work to accelerate America’s transition to a clean energy economy.

On a sunny afternoon July 9, 2015, four regions of Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) co-hosted an event on community solar gardens (CSGs) at LREC’s facility in Pelican Rapids.

One of the most important responsibilities our cities have is to build and maintain public infrastructure. The private sector invests in reliance on this public investment and together we build diverse communities, supporting a high quality of life for our citizens.

Drive Electric Minnesota – an organization that promotes electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in charging infrastructure statewide—presents the Zero Emission Charging Challenge (ZECC). ZECC hopes to power all public charging stations with Windsource, Xcel Energy’s renewable energy program. EVs produce no air pollutants, but the electricity necessary for charging exhausts fossil fuels.

Looking for a great green job in the clean energy sector? Below are four positions here in Minnesota that might be the perfect fit for you. Good luck with your applications!
 

Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS)

Executive Director
This powerful position heads M-RETS. The Executive Director advises on policy, develops annual budgets, and serves as primary ambassador.

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) has recently partnered with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) to offer online courses in its BuildingEnergy Masters Series. This partnership expands the MREA’s scope of training from renewable energy technologies to now include sustainable building practices as well.

Tim Springer owns properties in Phillips and Powderhorn neighborhoods. Since his undergraduate days at Colby College in Maine, he has been implementing energy efficient measures. In the mid-1980s, he was a board member for the Recycling Association of Minnesota and board president for the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

ENERGY STAR certification is a nationally recognized symbol of building efficiency. It tells current and potential occupants that owners care about running the building well, being financially prudent, and being environmentally responsible. There are currently two separate grant opportunities for ENERGY STAR building certification in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce has just announced two new financing programs that are available for local governments and public entities in the state interested in pursuing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

In 2007, the University of Minnesota decided to build a new source of heating and electricity. Shortly after an underground steam tunnel surprisingly survived the 2007 I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse, two boilers went offline. This combination convinced the University of Minnesota to invest in a $96 million combined heat and power plant (CHP) in the Old Main Utility Building.

If your farm has ever had demand charges on your utility bill, you know that they can have a dramatic impact on cost. Fortunately, there are easy ways to avoid demand charges. This blog post walks you through a basic understanding of demand charges and then offers key tips to keep your bills lower.

Fritz Ebinger at CERTs joined Dan Hoffman with KSMQ TV’s Farm Connections and Jack Hedin of Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables recently to learn more about the farm’s solar installation and offer some insights for other producers thinking about solar.

Click play below to watch the video.

Rick Soltis’ parents built a passive solar house outside of Holdingford in 1983. Located about twenty miles northwest of St. Cloud, his home relies on windows, walls, and floors to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer.

CERTs has compiled a handy list featuring ten ways that you can save money and energy this summer while staying cool. Use it like a checklist to mark off the things you’re already doing and find some new ways to help your energy bill chill out!

[1] Turn off fans in empty rooms.

Continuing the 8-year run as a primary exhibitor in the Eco Experience building at the Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources will again be overseeing nearly 4,000 square feet of exhibit space on energy use in Minnesota homes in partnership with other state agencies, utility companies, non-profits and businesses.

The League of Minnesota Cities recognized 26 member cities and one tribal community at an awards ceremony for completing one of three participation steps in the GreenStep Cities initiative. Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a free and voluntary program designed to help Minnesota cities achieve their environmental sustainability goals through implementation of 28 best practices.

The tables were turned for 70 educators who attended the Summer Institute for Climate Change Education this past June at Apple Valley’s School of Environmental Studies. For three days, these educators became students on all things sustainability-related.

The event is organized by Climate Generation, formerly known as the Will Steger Foundation.

In 2014, the City of Detroit Lakes was looking at aesthetic and infrastructure upgrades to Washington Ave, including plans to retrofit the existing high pressure sodium (HPS) street lights to LEDs.

The goal of the Renewable Energy Outreach Project was to promote the benefits of solar heating systems, particularly for low-income households in Northwest Minnesota.

The Energy CENTs Coalition is collaborating with CenterPoint Energy this summer to offer the Low Income Rental Efficiency Program. Available for property owners renting to income-eligible tenants of 1-4 unit properties, this conservation opportunity will help to reduce energy costs for low-income tenants and their landlords.

Since 1972, Len Busch Roses has used environmentally friendly biomass boilers to heat its greenhouse. This Plymouth business, the only rose grower in the United States outside of California, employs over 150 people. Sprawling across 15 acres, the company produces seven million flowers each year.

Second-generation owner Patrick Busch credits this unique success to biomass fuel.

McLeod Cooperative Power held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of its Community Solar Project on June 23. Some of the members participating in the community solar array, Coop directors and employees, and representatives from Great River Energy, participated in the event.

Thirty-nine cooperative members have subscribed to 82% of the panels in the array.

Cologne’s City Council unanimously agreed to source 100% of the city’s electricity needs from community solar. Located 30 miles west of Minneapolis in Carver County, this city of 1,519 will become the first local government in Minnesota to be powered completely by solar energy. The city will subscribe to a community solar garden at the nearby Bongards cheese plant.

Residents and businesses in Winona County have organized around the prospect of getting a one megawatt community solar garden project installed in their Xcel Energy service territory. They call the effort Power Up Winona Community Solar, and it’s really picking up steam. We interviewed Chris Meyer, a local resident and energy expert, to learn more about the partnership and their goals.