Over 30 people gathered at the Cascade Meadow Wetlands & Environmental Science Center in Rochester on March 2, 2016 to network and set priorities around local clean energy projects.
The two and a half hour event started off with Andy Krogstad, the Managing Director of the Mayo Civic Center, talking about his experiences using the Guaranteed Energy Savings Program as a way to finance energy efficiency upgrades. He was followed by Jeff Beckman, President of AgInspire about the Renewable Energy Education Kits. AgInspire received CERTs seed grants in three regions with the understanding that their kits—a collection focused on wind, solar, biomass/fuel, and general energy concepts—will be highlighted at county fairs during the summer of 2016.
Taylor Gronau, City Administrator with Lake Crystal, was not able to attend the event to present on their Beat the Peak Energy Competition, but he did share his slides with us. The program is another of the CERTs Seed Grant projects in the Southeast region.
After the lightning talks, the participants shared some of the projects they are working on and interested in which led to a break out of smaller groups to connect about clean energy projects, events and resources. Some of those topics included energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings, biomass resources, battery storage, clean energy education, and community solar gardens and solar in general.
“It was exciting to see a good turnout and some new faces of people interested in renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Chris Meyer, southeast CERT regional coordinator. “It’s inspirational to see people committed to making their homes, businesses and communities more sustainable.”
Watch the KTTC TV evening news story about the event:
See photos from the event:
