News

April 1, Loon Lake, MN – Over 40 people gathered at a Central Region Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT) event at John Smith’s farm outside of Loon Lake to see his latest invention and livestock—solar-powered pigs. Twice as cute and fast as normal-powered pigs, these sun-powered porkers are the latest technology to hit the Central MN Region.

Blue Earth County has demonstrated in two of its Mankato buildings that even energy efficient buildings can be tapped for additional energy savings. Lighting motion detectors for the Courthouse and Government Center were only the latest of a long and successful list of efforts by Blue Earth County to save energy in its buildings.

Applications for the Made in Minnesota Solar Thermal Rebate Program reopened on Monday, the Minnesota Department of Commerce has announced. The solar thermal program accepted applications this year from January 1-February 28, but the program was not fully subscribed. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until 2014 funds are fully reserved.

The Solar Powering Minnesota conference held March 7, 2014 at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul was a huge success.

A decision this week by Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission soon could change the way Minnesotans get credited for the solar energy they produce.

The commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to adopt a Minnesota Department of Commerce-developed method of calculating the value of solar energy.

Tesla Motors is building a SuperCharging network that enables long distance driving with an all-electric Tesla Model S. This week the project reached an important milestone-there are now enough stations in place to allow all-American road trips from coast to coast by using these stations to charge your car along the way.

The State of Minnesota B3 Energy Benchmarking program has been developed by the State of Minnesota Department of Administration and Department of Commerce to help State and local governments improve the energy performance of their buildings by tracking and managing facility energy consumption. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

The West Central Clean Energy Resource Team (WC CERT) and The Minnesota Project presented an educational program on how to pursue funding to support an LED lighting retrofit project on Thursday, March 13, 2014 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Life Center Auditorium of MinnWest Technology Campus in Willmar.

The Rural Energy for American Program (REAP) from USDA Rural Development is a funding opportunity for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs for farmers and rural small businesses. We recently held a webinar to walk participants through the 2014 USDA Rural Development REAP funding cycle and example project ideas.

Center for Energy and Environment in conjunction with partner Neighborhood Energy Connection, excitedly announced the publication of a report that outlines a new approach to incorporate the value of energy-efficiency in homes at time-of-sale. The program, called “Energy Fit Homes,” will be launching in April, in conjunction with the Neighborhood Energy Connection.

Nestled within the vast world of University of Minnesota student groups is a true gem: Innovative Engineers (IE). They’re busy working with people across the world to improve their communities and the quality of life. Current Vice President, Steven Maurer, an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering, shares a few of their most inspiring recent stories in the interview below.

Light Installation Energizes Holland Neighborhood – Unveiling of public art project to visually represent neighborhood energy conservation efforts.

The Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) and Minneapolis Holland Neighborhood hosted an unveiling for the NE Green Light Project at Edison High School on Thursday, November 7 at 3:30pm.

As the 2013 Nonprofit Mission Award winner in Innovation, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) has transformed the way low-income families obtain heat resources in a way that creates self-reliance and independence. RREAL’s Solar Assistance program is a nationally unique strategy that brings an innovative and sustainable solution to the pervasive societal challenge of fuel poverty.

Solar panels from three different manufacturers — including two made in Minnesota – will battle it out on the roof of a downtown Duluth office building to see which can generate the most electricity in a Northland climate.

Minnesota consumed a total of 1,979 trillion Btus of energy in 2008. Of this, Minnesota industry consumed approximately 33% or 615 trillion Btus, including 30,000 gigawatt hours of electricity and 100 million MCF of natural gas to deliver products and services.

Fifteen research and development grant projects that will ultimately help Minnesota consumers and businesses save energy, cut energy bills, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions were announced recently by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. The grants, totaling nearly $3.

Minnesota has a new statewide team for supporting high efficiency wood energy systems. The Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team includes diverse organizations and individuals with expertise to support effective use of wood energy technologies.

Have you ever seen the “icicle show” at the Federated Church in Morris, Minnesota? The icicles occurred following roof snowmelt and subsequent freezing and grew to be as long as 6 feet hanging from the edge of the roof (see picture). Some of these icicles were massive and if they broke off and hit you, it could’ve been a disaster. Well, the icicles are gone for good.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) has posted three reports as required by state legislation passed in 2013.

The three reports are available as PDFs on the Energy Reports section of the Division of Energy Resources website, or can be accessed using the links below.

Dairyland Power has signed an agreement with Minnesota-Three, LLC, to purchase the renewable energy produced by a planned large solar facility, to be located along U.S. Highway 52 north of Rochester, Minn.

The new solar installation will be 517 kilowatts (kW), and could produce enough energy to power nearly 60 homes.

It seems like every year brings a new normal to the U.S. solar industry. The industry is dynamic, full of business innovation, and often hard to predict.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce is now accepting applications for the Made in Minnesota Solar Incentive Program. Made in Minnesota is one component of last year’s solar energy bill passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor that is aimed to grow the solar energy sector in Minnesota.

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The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced yesterday that Minnesota will receive an additional $15,814,434 in federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds for the Energy Assistance Program (EAP). The total amount of funds Minnesota has received this year is $114,540,746.