News

The benefits of Milan’s SEU program are beginning to get noticed, and their energy efficiency initiative continues to grow! With the help of West Central CERT grants, Milan has implemented energy efficiency plans that not only reduce energy consumption, but also reduce residents’ energy bills.

The future looks bright for Two Harbors High School students! The installation of solar panels has created a unique educational opportunity for both students and the local community as solar energy is implemented in science and math curricula across the school. Enthusiasm for this project came more from educational purposes than from measurable, energy-saving potential.

The Clean Energy Resource Teams want to help your community kickstart a clean energy project, and we’ve extended our application deadline to August 6th, 2012. Each of the seven CERT regional teams are looking to seed innovative, community-based clean energy projects, and yours could be a good fit.

Minnesotans can now participate in a group purchasing program to reduce the cost and uncertainties of going solar. The goal of the program is to reduce the implementation barriers often presented to home and business owners looking into renewable energy systems.

We recently caught up with Jerry Loney, the energy management specialist with North Itasca Electric Cooperative based in Bigfork, MN. Jerry has come up with an innovative residential lighting program partnering with Great River Energy, a local hardware store, and three area food shelves.

Businesses in the White Bear Lake area had the opportunity to learn about the basics of solar energy and the incentives and rebates available for installing solar energy systems at the Metro CERT Solar Works! for Businesses workshop held on Wednesday May 23rd at Washington Square Bar and Grill in White Bear Lake, MN.

The new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) have recently been rolling out here in Minnesota. We caught up with early adopter Stuart Rauvola of Stillwater, MN to learn more about his experiences.

When we moved into our house several years ago there was an old wooden dock leaning up against the garage. This summer we decided to pull it out and see if we could get it in the pond across the street. After a little cleaning up, repair and attaching of floats, it was ready to go in the water.

The Clean Energy Resource Teams are currently looking for an organizer to work with our Metro team at Eureka Recycling—this is a great opportunity to work with communities to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy in the Twin Cities and the eleven-county metro area! See the details below.

We recently got together with John Marshall, manager of Community & Local Government Relations with Xcel Energy, to learn more about the Energy Innovation Corridor. Joel Haskard: Can you tell us a little about the Energy Innovation Corridor? John Marshall: There’s so much to tell about the Energy Innovation Corridor (EIC). But I’ll give it a whirl.

Members of the not-for-profit Minnesota Building Performance Association (MBPA) are leading experts working to ensure your home is safe, healthy, comfortable and efficient. We caught up with Becky Olson, president of MBPA, to find out more. Joel Haskard: Tell us a little bit about the Minnesota Building Performance Association.

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On Sunday morning, April 15th, over 80 folks gathered in the basement of the Mayflower Church in Minneapolis to learn about solar energy. The workshop started like most of the other “Solar Works” workshops being hosted by Metro CERT over the past several months, but added a few additional components.

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A big congratulations is in order for Good Samaritan – Sunwood and Redwood Falls Public Utilities! The utility was offering a lighting rebate and Brad Stephens, director of maintenance for Sunwood, jumped at the opportunity to upgrade their outdated, less efficient lighting at the facility to newer, brighter lighting.

On April 25th I got a chance to tour the Garden Fresh Farms aquaponics facility in Maplewood, MN. Don’t know what aquaponics is? That’s ok, I’ll explain. It is essentially sustainable agriculture using fish waste to fertilize plants grown indoors allowing multiple harvests per year. It is a partnership between the plants and the fish.

My five-year old son Henry likes to measure things. Always interested in comparing one thing to another, he asks, “Daddy, would a Tyrannosaurus be bigger than our house?” or, “Daddy, is a loon faster than a cheetah?” As a father, this line of questioning can sometimes be maddening.