News

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has named five in-state bioenergy projects as recipients of NextGen Energy grants. The five projects were selected out of a pool of 35, according to MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson.

On June 12th in Staples the Region 5 Development Commission (R5DC) and Central Clean Energy Resource Team (Central CERT) hosted a workshop about the Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP), B3 Energy Benchmarking System (B3), and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program.

See the original publication of this story by Wendy Wilde KTOE Radio Mankato News

A solar array will be going up on Good Counsel Hill. A big one, by Minnesota standards, covering four-and-a-quarter acres and generating 907 kilowatts of power, which will be inverted to 13,800 volts AC, enough to power about 115 homes.

During our February CERT Conference back in 2013 several regions expressed interest in LED Street Lighting. Since that time interest has only grown and there are many local governments starting to move forward with projects – including a few CERT Seed Grant Recipients.

Taking leadership to accelerate private-sector adoption of EVs, Minnesota is the first state nationwide to require its investor-owned utilities to offer a special rate for off-peak (overnight) EV refueling.

There is scholarship funding available to participate in the Regional Indicators Initiative – Apply by July 3. Over 20 Minnesota cities currently participate in the Regional Indicators Initiative (RII), and new participants are being accepted. The Regional Indicators Initiative measures annual performance metrics for Minnesota cities interested in increasing efficiency and sustainability.

This article is reposted from the original by Camille LeFevre on The Line and MinnPost.

Solar power isn’t just for southern locales anymore. According to Aladdin Solar, LLP, one of the Twin Cities metro’s growing solar companies, Minnesota actually has the same or better “solar resources” than most of the southeastern and northeastern U.S.

Municipalities and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) are facing dramatic increases in rooftop solar permit applications. With this trend expected to continue and spread, streamlining building and electrical permitting processes will become increasingly important to more AHJs.

As part of the U.S.

Story by USDA Rural Development.

Tara Kraft, owner of Colonial Cleaners and Laundromat in Worthington, MN, has replaced all of her “employees” over the last couple of years – over 90 to be exact. See, Tara considers her washers and dryers employees, and she has been upgrading her equipment to more energy efficient models.

I recently rode out to Darwin, MN with Michael Ostaffe of Once Innovations to visit Langmo Farms, one of the newest sites participating in our LED Pilot Project. There we met owner Greg Langmo and talked with him about his successful family-run turkey operation.

The Southeast Clean Energy Resource Team (SE CERT) is pleased to announce its second round of Seed Grant awards in 2014 for community-based energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. See below for a list of the four projects funded in Spring 2014. This is in addition to the 34 Seed Grant projects funded by CERTs across the state in 2014. Click here to see all of the projects.

On May 12, 2014, with the publication of the Request for Proposals (RFP) Notice in the State Register, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has officially announced the opening of the Fiscal Years (FY) 2014-2015 Environmental Assistance (EA) Grant Program for applications.

Nearly 200 people showed up to El Norteño Restaurant in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 19, for a “Carrotmob” to support the efforts of the owners, Clemen and Estela Serna, to improve the energy efficiency of their restaurant.

Are you on delivered fuels and looking for a way to supplement your winter heating needs? Or perhaps you’re just ready to transition to renewable energy? Solar thermal may be a good fit… and better yet there are rebates to help buy down the cost for those systems.

Talk about meeting a deadline early. This year, Minnesota Power will reach the state mandated-requirement of producing 25 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources. That’s 11 years early.

There are three separate opportunities currently open through the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.

Two of them are for Conservation Applied Research and Development (CARD) projects, and the third is for combined heat and power (CHP) support.

Please look closely at deadlines as some of these RFPs have quick turnarounds.

The Youth Energy Summit (YES!) Team Westbrook-Walnut Grove Public Schools entered building and utility data into the B3 Energy Benchmarking System for ten buildings in the City of Westbrooke to learn about energy use, as well as help the city better track energy use and utility costs in public buildings.

Connexus Energy, a cooperative electric utility serving the northern Twin Cities suburbs, said recently that it plans to build one of the state’s ­largest community solar gardens. With 792 solar panels and an output of 245 kilowatts, the project is several times larger than other solar gardens now operating or under construction in Minnesota.

The “191 Battle of the Buildings” (modeled after the EPA’s national contest) was a challenge for Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 to reduce their carbon footprint. Energy reductions (calculated from buildings that saved) resulted in nearly 9% in energy reductions for the district.

The Metro CERT Spring Resource and Networking Event on April 17th at the Como Zoo hosted an exciting group of speakers and energy professionals all focused on achieving the goal of cleaner and more sustainable energy use in our local communities.

USDA Rural Development State Director Colleen Landkamer today announced that USDA is seeking applications from rural small businesses and agricultural producers for funding to make energy efficiency improvements or to install renewable energy systems. “Developing renewable energy presents an enormous economic opportunity for rural America,” Landkamer said.

Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church has announced that it will be the first community of faith in Minnesota to host a community solar garden. The Church has partnered with solar developer Minnesota Community Solar to host the project atop the education wing on Bethel’s south Minneapolis property.

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Minnesota Cities at the League of Minnesota Cities recently had a discussion with Philipp Muessig, GreenStep Cities program coordinator with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to learn more about the initiative. Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a free and voluntary program cities can join to help them improve their Earth-friendly efforts in a cost-effective way.

Lakeville, MN’s Dragonfly Solar and SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer since 1975, will partner to deliver a 517-kilowatt solar array to four electric utility cooperatives in the U.S. Midwest.