News

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.

A total of 100 rural small business and agriculture producers in Minnesota were assisted by funding through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in 2013. Funding for 75 of these projects was recently announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

On a chilly Thursday, November 21st, The Northeast Clean Energy Resource Team (NE CERT) organized a community event sponsored by the Hibbing Chamber of Commerce, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA), Hibbing Public Library, and Energy Insight.

Douglas Tiffany, assistant extension professor at the University of Minnesota, discussed the economics of co-locating torrefaction, ethanol and coal power plants at the University of North Dakota on Nov. 6.

On Wednesday, December 4, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commissioners passed a resolution that identified seven MPRB sustainable solar energy projects to be completed by 2015 through an Xcel Energy solar grant of more than $969,000.

Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) members now have the opportunity to purchase part of the output from their newly-installed HQ Prairie solar project being built on the restored native prairie at LREC headquarters.

The HQ Prairie solar array consists of 96 solar panels with a combined capacity of 39.36 KW or 39,360 watts. The array is expected to produce about 1.

The development of community solar gardens is a potentially exciting opportunity that will allow individuals to join with others in their community to advance clean energy projects.

CERTs is working to develop materials and resources to help individuals and communities better understand what this opportunity does—and doesn’t—mean for them.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced on Nov. 22 the 2014 incentive amounts for its 10-year, $15-million-a-year Made in Minnesota Solar Incentive Program, to launch Jan. 1 2014.

Made in Minnesota was one of several initiatives enacted by the 2013 Legislature to increase deployment of solar energy throughout the state.

There are a lot of great educational resources out there to help people understand their clean energy options, but often language barriers can get in the way. Now, for Spanish-language learners, there is a nice collection of clean energy resources available.

Nearly 30 people gathered at the historic Depot in Wadena Friday, Sept. 13th, to learn about heating alternatives for communities on delivered fuels at an event co-hosted by Central Clean Energy Resource Team (Central CERT) and University of Minnesota Extension.

The City of New Ulm achieved $98,000 in energy savings in one year after the installation of new aeration blower motors, variable speed drives, controls, and air distribution system in their Waste Water Treatment Plant. After the first year of measurement it is projected that the upgrades will have a 5 year payback.

Ever wonder what to do with the tangled mess of lights that marks the start of many Minnesotans holiday season? Ring in the holidays by getting rid of old, broken, inefficient light strands and upgrading to new, efficient LED holiday lights!

CERTs is partnering again with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) for the 2013-2014 holiday season on Recycle Your Holidays™.

As cities look to improve services without increasing taxes, energy efficient public buildings are gaining traction. At the League of Minnesota Cities on Tuesday, November 12th, thirty people representing fifteen Minnesota cities attended a workshop on “Better Buildings: Measuring, Retrofitting, and Financing.

On November 6, 2013 in Mankato the Energy Service Coalition in Minnesota hosted a workshop for government, energy service company, and utility staff to talk about the Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP), a technical and financial solution to install energy efficiency upgrades and renewable technologies in publicly owned buildings.

The first community-wide test of LED streetlights in Minnesota is already producing big energy savings for the city of West St. Paul. The results could lead to lots of others making the same move. “Other cities need to pay attention to this,’’ Mayor John Zanmiller said. “This is the way it’s going, and we’re fortunate that we were the test lab.