News

Seven educational institutions and one nonprofit group in Minnesota were selected to be part of the Midwest Solar Training Network (MSTN) and include:

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Century College
Hibbing Community College
Riverland Community College
Minneapolis Community College
St. Paul College
Central Lakes College
Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

There are lots of lists out there of things that you should do to get your home ready for winter—keeping you and your family comfortable and keeping more of your hard-earned dollars in your pocket. CERTs put together these eight items as a short list for you—you could get all of these done in just one weekend, with on minor investments.

Give to the Max Day is The Great Minnesota Give Together!

Give to the Max Day returns as a day to inspire unprecedented levels of charitable giving in the state of Minnesota! The collective goal is to beat last year’s record by having 40,000 people give to their favorite Minnesota charity on November 16.

 
It’s time to register for the Community Wind across America Midwest regional conference, presented by Windustry, a national leader in helping communities develop their own wind project. This Midwest conference will be a networking and educational event focused on Community Wind and Small Wind development on November 15-16, St. Paul, MN.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce Office of Energy Security (OES) requests proposals from eligible applicants for Training for Dislocated and Disadvantaged Energy Professionals (an ARRA Grant Program). Grants will be awarded competitively to successful respondents.

Are you a student? Have ideas or thoughts about how to make your school more sustainable? Want to meet other engaged students around Minnesota? On Monday, October, 25th the Green Schools National Youth Summit is taking place in Minneapolis! The Summit will engage over 100 high school leaders, Will Steger and Philippe Cousteau, and organizations and people involved in clean energy projects.

Sitting at a table in the bustling Global Market, eating a Manny’s sandwich, I visited with both Agatha Vaaler and Julia Eagles of the Green Institute on a windy day in December. This was my initial meeting to discuss volunteering at the Green Institute.

Here’s a quick update on a few funding and incentive programs from the Housing Finance Agency, Office of Energy Security, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and others. You should also check out the most recent installment of Funding Opportunities in the Fields of Energy and Environment from OES.

A new report, Ownership and Regional Economic Impact: The Case of Wind Development in Minnesota, by Arne Kildegaard, Professor of Economics & Management at University of Minnesota Morris, posits that the Upper Midwest is poised for a major investment boom in wind-powered electricity generation.

CERTs Coordinator, Joel Haskard, recently connected with Bob Olson, a tax attorney in Minnesota, about an intriguing public-private model for wind development. Many of the questions posed here relate to Bob’s recent document, Public/Private Wind Turbine Project: Financial Alternatives, outlining this specific model.

Help CERTs tell the story of clean energy action in Minnesota through photos! On 10/10/10, people across Minnesota—and the world—will celebrate climate solutions through events and by sharing stories as part of the 350.org Global Work Party. Check out the photos below!

WHAT’S THE PLAN? CERTs is collecting photos from October 2010 through the end of January 2011, leading up to the Feb.

YES! is a team-oriented youth program that uses hands-on, experiential learning and energy action projects to address energy opportunities and issues in rural Minnesota communities. Learn more by watching the short video below and by visiting their website.

As part of its ongoing Farm Energy Efficiency Program, The Minnesota Project recently launched a new Farm Energy Efficiency Resource Center. The resource center contains myriad documents from across the nation, all related to promoting energy efficiency improvements on farms.

This 18-minute video introduces you to a 9th grader at Mayo High School in Rochester, MN who won local, national, and international awards and scholarships for her clean energy-related science fair project. She and the program that supported her are a model for others who want to help young leaders rise up through outstanding and innovative science fair projects.

Juhl Wind Inc. recently announced the execution of a $10 Million wind project Development Agreement with GL Wind—a wind farm LLC formed by Gundersen Lutheran Hospital.

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 24 – USDA Rural Development State Director Colleen Landkamer recently announced that 18 farms and small businesses in rural Minnesota have been selected to receive over $1.7 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement projects under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

In 2007 a screen printing class at the University of Minnesota created an amazing set of posters focused on community clean energy and energy efficiency.

The folks at the West Central Research Outreach Center (WCROC) decided to throw a party recently in honor of their new green building dedication! The celebration took the form of a renewable energy road trip to showcase the great work that the folks at WCROC, University of Minnesota-Morris, local community members, and private companies in the area are doing to create a clean energy future.

The Office of Energy Security just released its most recent installment of current funding opportunities in the fields of energy and environment. Check out the opportunities now at http://funding.mncerts.

Save money on a new system & support MN manufacturers while incentives last   For a limited time only, the MN Office of Energy Security is offering a significant rebate for solar thermal installations on homes and businesses across the state! Heat your water or your home this winter with a reliable, energy efficient, and cost-saving solar thermal system.

The Women’s Environmental Institute (WEI) is a non-profit organization focused on creating and sharing knowledge about environmental issues and policies relevant to women, children and identified communities especially affected by environmental injustices.

The Green Institute and ALL the tenants in our building hosted the largest free breakfast for bikers and walkers last Thursday in the Twin Cities for BikeWalk to Work Day! Guests included Mayor R. T. Rybak, Councilmembers Schiff and Glidden, Commissioner McLaughlin, and Rep.

Like biking? Like free food and coffee? Then you should definitely come to the 3rd annual Brake for Breakfast event this Thursday, June 10th from 7-9am! The tentants of the Phillips Eco Enterprise Center will be serving a FREE breakfast in the parking lot! Menu includes: Birchwood Cafe pastries, eggs, pancakes, sausage, vegan sweet rolls, tofu scramble, oatmeal, Peace Coffee and juice.