News

A total of 61 farmers and rural small businesses in Minnesota have been selected to receive almost $2.5 million in grants and loans to install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. The funding is awarded through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Have you or your community worked with CERTs? Perhaps you’re on one of our regional CERT Steering Committees, or you received seed grant funding for a project. Maybe you joined us at our biennial conference or a regional clean energy tour. You might also be a visitor to our website who found just what you were looking for. Whatever your story, we want to hear from you.

This limited, full-time job is open to all qualified seekers.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to interview Seth Fore, a masters student at the University of Minnesota Crookston who has been working with professor Paul Porter to study small-scale on-farm biofuel production. Their project is an innovative approach to farm-based energy sustainability that has been supported with both CERTs staff time and seed grant funding.

This permanent, full-time job is open to all qualified seekers. It offers the opportunity to work with a team of professionals in the dynamic field of energy facility permitting to minimize adverse human and environmental impacts of facilities while ensuring continuing electric power system reliability and integrity.

I recently attended a meeting hosted by the Minnesota Office of Energy Security on July 21st, 2009 that focused on ways that utilities can design energy conservation and efficiency programs to most positively change the behavior of residents.

Right now, there are 100 student teams in schools across Minnesota working to reduce their carbon footprint, and WE WANT YOU to be a mentor! More about the teams: The teams consist of students and a faculty “coach” as well as some administration and building operations support.

Congratulations to Minnesota Green Communities for another successful Green by Design Conference! The conference content was very strong, with a focus on technical training and green building and design applications this year.

The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), in conjunction with the Center for Producer Owned Energy, Aitkin County Land Development, and the Aitkin County Economic Development/Forest Industry Coordinator, is exploring the opportunity to utilize biomass resources available in Aitkin County to generate renewable energy.

Below are new stimulus developments from the Minnesota Office of Energy Secuirty. July News: A new publication called the Stimulus Funding Summary is now available on our website. This is a summary of stimulus-funded programs for homeowners, businesses and local governments.

CERTs would like to recommend some resources for those looking for work in the clean energy industries in Minnesota. Minnesota-specific job boards that you should check include PCA’s NextStep and SEEK Job Listings, Minnesota Environmental Partnership Jobs List, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Job Board.

The Office of Energy security has worked with Minnesota State Colleges and Univerities (MnSCU) to pull together a list of existing courses and workshops on conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Categories include: Workshops & Live Webinars; Online Courses; Custom Training Services; and Post-secondary education programs with green focus or green components.

The District 10 Como Community Council, which is now a Metro CERTs affiliate, is a nonprofit organization made up of elected, volunteer residents and community organizing staff that serve the Como neighborhood of St. Paul. Metro CERTs partnered with the District 10 Environment Committee in February of this year to hold a workshop on home energy efficiency upgrades.

Funding Will Speed Adoption of Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies WASHINGTON, DC – June 24, 2009 – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $204 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in ten states.

Two new and helpful publications from the folks at Green For All and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy have just been released.

The Minnesota Office of Energy Security is providing periodic updates regarding the federal stimulus in Minnesota. We will be posting these updates on the CERTs blog. June/July News: Cities, counties and Indian tribes eligible for direct formula grants through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program must apply directly to the U.S.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contains over $18 billion in energy efficiency funding that qualifying entities (primarily states, cities, and counties) can pursue. The primary objectives of this funding are to build jobs, save energy, and build energy efficiency infrastructure for the longer-term.

Overview: The Executive Committee of the ‘Renewable Energy Marketplace – An Alliance for Talent Development’ (MNREM) is requesting Proposals from businesses and organizations in the 36-county MNREM region.

 
So you’re convinced that NOW is the time to make energy efficiency and renewbale energy improvements and you’ve visited ENERGY STAR to learn about it.

John Myers – 06/10/2009 Duluth News Tribune The McQuade Road safe harbor just outside Duluth became the first solar-powered boat landing in Minnesota on Tuesday. Crews were bolting 2 kilowatts of solar panels on an I-beam to feed electricity into the Minnesota Power grid—hopefully enough to offset the power used by the restrooms and parking lot lights at the new landing on Lake Superior.

CERTs partner The Minnesota Project welcomes you to join us for a 90-Minute Introduction to the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. The webinar is free and will be held on June 25th, 2009 from 1:30-3:00pm CDT. Continue reading to learn more and register to participate on the web or in person.

Via Mankato Free Press (Prairie grass slated for biofuel use) For years, there has been talk and plans for converting grass to energy. Beginning this fall, several groups plan to actually do it. “We wanted to do something on the ground. We already have the fuel and we have an end user in place,” said Neal Feeken, renewable energy coordinator for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota.

Via KARE 11 (Solar power gets boost from stimulus and new laws) and Star Tribune (Incentives giving solar projects a bright boost) State lawmakers, mayors, and industry executives gathered yesterday to announce legislation and federal recovery money coming out of this session targeted to renewable energy, especially solar power.