News

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.

Interviewee: John D. Paulson, Environmental Specialist, City of Hutchinson Interviewer: Lindsay Wimmer, GESP Outreach Coordinator, Clean Energy Resource Teams The City of Hutchinson used an energy savings performance contract to finance and upgrade the Wastewater Treatment Plant and retrofit to more efficient lighting in their City Hall, Library, Liquor Store, and Recreation Center.

CERTs Behavior Change and Metrics Coordinator Alexis Troschinetz attended the 1st Annual Social of the Minnesota Building Performance Association (MBPA) in Fall 2013. More than 30 people gathered at Indeed Brewery in Minneapolis to sip the delicious brews and “talk shop.

On December 13th in Mankato, the Renewable Energy Task Force, Region 9 Development Commission (R9DC) hosted a workshop about the Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP) and the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced today that it will begin to offer rebates for solar thermal systems starting in 2014 as part of its 10-year, $15-million-a-year Made in Minnesota Solar Incentive Program for both solar electric and solar thermal.

The Clean Energy Resource Teams are excited to announce the projects awarded Seed Grants in each of the seven Minnesota CERTs regions. Most regions awarded $20,000 worth of seed grants, catalyzing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The funding is provided by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.

Energy savings were cause for great celebration on July 11th when CenterPoint Energy awarded a sizable check to Metropolitan Council Environmental Services for huge savings at the Blue Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant in Shakopee, Minnesota.

In October, a group of roughly 25 individuals gathered in Mankato to connect and hear about renewable and energy efficiency projects in the area. The day began at the Courtyard Marriott in Mankato, the first LEED certified hotel in Minnesota.

There’s been a lot of exciting action on solar energy in Minnesota in 2013. To keep the momentum going, we’d like to invite you to save the date for Solar Powering Minnesota, a conference that will take place in Saint Paul, MN on Friday, March 7, 2014.

Since the 1930s, Duluth, Minnesota, has continually drawn frigid water from Lake Superior, heated it to steam in a coal-fired boiler, then pushed that steam through a network of pipes to provide heat for downtown businesses. The city is now studying its options for modernizing the aging system to make it more flexible, economical, and sustainable.

The market share of condensing boilers, sometimes called high-efficiency boilers, has increased dramatically over the last several years, thanks in part to utility programs that provide rebates.

Unfortunately, many of these newly installed condensing boilers only achieve a fraction of their expected ideal case energy savings.