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Several of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBGs) that were distributed to towns and counties across Minnesota focused on increasing the efficiency of commercial buildings that serve the public. Among the businesses that used EECBG funding to make efficiency improvements were food service businesses, municipal liquor stores, and retail stores.

Angela Headlee, Central Region CERT Coordinator, interviewed Jolene Bengtson, Business Manager for the Pine River-Backus School District about a district-wide lighting project done to improve the energy efficiency of classrooms at the elementary and high schools that replaced over 260 lights.

A lot of energy goes into powering parking garages, street lamps, traffic signals, and vehicles. Minnesota has begun to take notice and in 2009, several communities were given a great opportunity to try out transportation efficiency ideas with Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funding. The hubs of transportation in Minnesota, St.

Do you have a nice-looking solar energy installation in Minnesota? If so, we need photos! As part of the Minnesota Solar Challenge (a US Department of Energy funded effort to remove barriers to rooftop solar PV deployment), we’re looking for high-quality photos of your best and most beautiful solar projects in Minnesota.

The City of Woodbury is quickly becoming one of the more energy efficient communities in the Twin Cities Metro area. Having already completed recommissioning studies and lighting retrofits in a majority of its city buildings, Woodbury took another major step toward energy efficiency with the renovation of Bielenberg Sports Ice Arena refrigeration system.

If you’re in Xcel Energy’s service territory, complete your T12 lighting upgrade projects soon so you can take advantage of the utility’s 30 percent bonus rebates for T12 retrofits! These rebates will no longer be available due to changes by U.S. Department of Energy lighting efficiency standards. Qualifying lighting upgrades must be invoiced and installed on or before December 31, 2012.

There are a number of things that attract residents and businesses to Edina in the the Twin Cities metro area—among them is the city’s focus on sustainability. Over 50 Edina residents came to the City Hall for a Solar Works! in Edina workshop on November 15th to listen to community members’ stories about their solar systems and the available rebates and incentives for solar energy.

Hockey is big in Edina. The town rallies around the sport and its facilities—giving their support to the teams, sending their kids to the ice arena for lessons, and going out on weeknights to watch games.

Using an innovative financial model, Salut Bar Americain is saving energy, saving money, and doing good for the planet—all while staying focused on their core business. Salut Bar Americain is one of Edina’s most popular neighborhood restaurants, known for great service and an eclectic french menu.

When Chisago City purchased 70 acres of beautiful lakefront property just south of town in 2006, the acquisition presented a great opportunity. Not only did it allow Chisago City to establish Ojiketa Regional Park, it offered the chance to provide a community center long desired by the town.

This is so cool: In order to celebrate the start of hockey season, CERTs is launching a series about energy projects done in ice arenas around the state of Minnesota. Ice arenas have a familiar place in many communities, but what is not often thought about is that they are some of the most energy-intensive buildings a city can own.

Flip on the lights at Riverside Ice Arena in Austin, Minnesota and you’ll see a huge difference from just a few seasons ago. The entire arena is now lit up with energy-efficient T-5 fluorescent lights in place of the metal halide lamps that once hung over the ice.

Rushford-Peterson High School has a long history that illustrates how challenging improving energy efficiency can be in an older building. The original 1906 brick building and 1936 addition have nearly two-foot-thick walls. The 1957 addition has all single-pane glass windows and the 1970 addition was built using cinderblock construction with no insulation.

In Minnesota the law requires natural gas and electric utilities to invest a portion of their revenues in conservation improvement programs (CIPs) that promote energy efficient technologies and practices to their customers.

Background In 2009, the Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) received a grant from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund to run a comprehensive neighborhood-based energy efficiency program in eight cities across Minnesota.

The Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, or RREAL, has partnered up with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa to work to replicate RREAL’s Solar Assistance Program through outreach and education. The Basics: To accomplish this work, RREAL is looking for highly motivated, action-oriented, and self-directed applicants interested in learning more about solar thermal.

In the small town of Gonvick, Minnesota, the Clear Waters Life Center has revitalized an old building and with it, a community. When the schools of Gonvick and Clearbrook were combined in 1992, a new school building opened north of Clearbrook in 2004 to accommodate the influx of students and the Gonvick School was vacated.