In 2009 the Agricultural Utilization and Research Institute, also know as AURI, completed a Template for Estimating County Level Energy Use and Renewable Energy Potential that has since been used by regional planning organizations to create inventories that can be used by communities to assess where they should best focus their energy and resources to further local economic development.
The template contains instructions and data for estimating the renewable energy potential and energy demand for a county or region. The primary intent of the template is to provide a “how to” manual for inventorying biomass resources and determining local and/or regional markets for renewable energy. This tool can be used as a first step for identifying renewable energy opportunities and assisting with developing a preliminary feasibility assessment for identified renewable energy ventures.
Template for Estimating County Level Energy Use and Renewable Energy Potential:
- Download Report (PDF)
- Download Worksheets (Excel)
- Discussion about using template from CERTs meeting (PDF)
Completed Inventories for Minnesota Counties
Several organizations throughout the state have already used the template to do inventories for counties they serve. They are organized here by the organization that conducted the assessment.
Southern MN: Region Nine Development Commission completed renewable energy inventories for the following counties. CERTs also completed a case study about their efforts.
- Regional Energy Report in PDF (and Appendices)
- County Summaries in PDF
- Blue Earth
- Brown
- Faribault
- Le Sueur
- Martin
- Nicollet
- Sibley
- Waseca
- Watonwan
West Central MN: West Central Initiative Foundation completed renewable energy inventories for the following counties:
- Becker – Report in PDF
- Clay – Report in PDF
- Otter Tail – Report in PDF
- Wilkin – Report in PDF
- More:
Northern MN: Headwaters Regional Development Commission completed renewable energy inventories for the following counties:
- Beltrami – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- Clearwater – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- Hubbard – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- Lake of the Woods – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- Mahnomen – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
Northwestern MN: Northwest Regional Development Commission completed renewable energy inventories for the following counties:
- Kittson – Inventory in Excel
- Marshall – Inventory in Excel
- Norman – Inventory in Excel
- Pennington – Inventory in Excel
- Polk – Inventory in Excel
- Red Lake – Inventory in Excel
- Roseau – Inventory in Excel
Central MN: Region 5 Development Commission completed renewable energy inventories for the following counties:
- Todd – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- Wadena – Report in PDF | Inventory in Excel
- More: