News

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.

There are currently two open opportunities with the Youth Energy Summit (YES!), a program that empowers youth to partner with their community to create economic and environmental vitality through hands-on learning and team-based projects related to renewable energy and energy conservation. You can respond to one or both of them.

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.

On May 23, 2012, 30 people gathered in Appleton, Minnesota to participate in a Financing Energy-Saving Projects for Local Governments & Schools event co-hosted by the West Central Clean Energy Resource Team (WC CERT) and Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission (UMVRDC).

High electricity costs and environmental concerns inspired local designer boutique Arafina to pursue their lighting upgrade with the Center for Energy and Environment’s One-Stop Efficiency Shop.

The Clean Cities program through the U.S. Department of Energy has just released four (!) Plug-in Electric Vehicle handbooks. Each handbook is targeted towards a specific sector: 1. Consumers, 2. Electrical Contractors, 3. Fleet Managers, and 4. Public Charging Station Hosts. Click here to read or download the handbooks (they’re under the “vehicles” section).

The Minnesota GreenStep Cities program, a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition program to help cities achieve their sustainability goals, won in both the Sustainable Communities and Partnership of the Year categories at the Environmental Initiative’s 20th annual awards ceremony on May 24th.

Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular as fleet vehicles in Minnesota. Joel Haskard with CERTs recently chatted with Aaron Van De Bogart, an electrical Engineer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to learn more about how they’re using electric vehicles, and why.

The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota (BBAM) recently released a roadmap for the advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals industry: Minnesota Roadmap: Recommendations for BioIndustrial Processing. This study provides a very practical and relevant set of information for investors, businesses, and stakeholders across the value chain for renewable materials.