News

On July 26th, 2012, the City of Saint Paul showed how solar energy works in Minnesota with a tour of multiple new solar installations in the downtown area. Joined by members of various local governments in the Metro area and other interested members of the public, Metro CERT learned about three new solar installations at the RiverCentre and Science Museum.

Residents in Saint Paul 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! workshops for Saint Paul East (on June 7th at Battle Creek Recreation Center) and Saint Paul West (on June 13th at the Western Police Station).

Low-income families are often forced to sacrifice energy efficiency and the environmental health of their homes for the sake of a bargain. Not so for five families in Northfield, MN. Thanks to a partnership between several local organizations, five foreclosed homes are being re-envisioned as models of energy efficient, affordable housing.

Aiming to decrease local reliance on non-renewable energy, the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) and Iron Range Resources investigated local communities’ Comprehensive Plans to determine how many of them addressed energy conservation and efficiency initiatives and to what extent action was taken.

Seeking to reduce its carbon footprint by 11% in three years, Rosemount High School was resourceful in utilizing support from local organizations. Rosemount High received guidance and information from Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon (MnSCC) and the Minnesota Energy Challenge, and funding from MnSCC, Metro CERT, and Dakota County Safe Streets for various aspects of the project.

Here’s an equation for energy efficiency: ($300 × 3 high schools) + 92 youth = solar success.

Students and staff at Winona Senior High School took environmental education to a new level with their determination to implement solar panels that would provide hands-on educational opportunities.

What began as a daunting project three years ago has recently produced successful results. In 2009 the armory in Park Rapids, MN was unusable and considered a threat to the environmental health of the city and its inhabitants. Today it acts as a model for energy efficient technologies and responsible community development.

Happy campers abound now that a solar hot water system has been constructed on the roof of Recreation Park’s new shower house in Grand Marais! Don Grant, a leader of the project explains: “The panels have eliminated complaints about losing hot water in the bathhouse. In the past, complaints were common during the 4th of July and the local Fisherman’s Picnic (festival) weekends.

Churches across Minnesota and the country are looking at ways to reduce their energy costs while at the same time enhancing the comfort and safety of their buildings.

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.

This summer’s heat has gotten a lot of us thinking about air conditioning – and how much it costs! Especially for local units of government and schools on ever tighter budgets, reining in these energy costs can make a big difference.

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.