Ely’s Adventure Inn is a Lean, Green, Hospitality Machine
Susan and Mike Edgington know how important it is to protect the environment. As people who rely on the pristine beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest to...
View ArticleOut of the Classroom and Into the Field: Renewable Energy at the BioHaus
Concordia Language Villages (CLV) is widely known for providing students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a different language and culture. Whether it’s German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish,...
View ArticleHeating Things Up on the Farm: Crop Drying with Solar Air Heat in Central...
Since 2000, the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) has been serving low income communities in Central Minnesota by developing, manufacturing, and installing solar hot water and air heaters to help...
View ArticleEducating for Efficiency: The Greater Milan Initiative Sustainable Energy...
In 2009, the University of Delaware created a model that helps to more effectively provide communities with support and information about environmentally-responsible practices. They called this model...
View ArticleBuilding Community around Clean Energy: Finland Community Center Geothermal...
Finland, a small town in Northeastern Minnesota, wanted a new space for community members to gather, teach, learn, and hold meetings for their community. The previous recreation center, which doubled...
View ArticleCuriosity and continuous improvement pay off: Weatherization fixes cut waste...
Randy Washburn has a knack for how things operate. Although he has only been Supervisor of Itasca County’s Facilities Management Office for five years, he has made a huge impact. Washburn has a good...
View ArticleBringing a building back to life: Clear Waters Life Center in Gonvick, MN
In the small town of Gonvick, Minnesota, the Clear Waters Life Center has revitalized an old building and with it, a community. When the schools of Gonvick and Clearbrook were combined in 1992, a new...
View ArticleBurnsville Ice Arena Renovations: Burning for Energy Savings
Thanks to a massive energy efficiency renovation, the Burnsville Ice Arena has become an impressive model of sustainability. Prior to the renovation, which began in 2010, the facility was in serious...
View ArticleWhat's Happenin' in Hennepin? Hennepin County's Energy Efficiency Projects
Hennepin County has done a lot to become more energy efficient, and they did it fast.As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the county received $2.8 million in Energy Efficiency...
View ArticleCottage Grove Sheds Some Light on Its Recent Sustainability Initiatives
Cottage Grove, a city located near the confluence of the Mississippi and Saint Croix Rivers, was ready to make some energy efficiency improvements when a new financing opportunity from the Department...
View ArticleNo Need to Be So Hot and Cold: Chaska Targets HVAC System Upgrades
Located in the Minnesota River valley just southwest of the Twin Cities, Chaska bills itself as “a quality small town.” As the city grows, it is committed to doing so responsibly to improve quality of...
View ArticleRural Renewable Energy Alliance looks to expand Solar Assistance to mobile homes
The Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) on the Hunt Utilities Group Research campus in Pine River, Minnesota, has been working to address energy poverty for over a decade. It runs a statewide Solar...
View ArticleDonatelli’s Italian Restaurant in White Bear Lake Reduces Energy Use by Over 20%
Restaurants use more energy per square foot than any other commercial business. However, saving energy is possible, as Trish Appleby has demonstrated in her restaurant Donatelli’s Homemade Italian in...
View ArticleWhite Bear Lake Restaurants Save Energy Through Simple Actions
The City of White Bear Lake has a robust, independently owned restaurant community – one that attracts guests from around the metro area. This vibrant business population, coupled with the fact that...
View ArticleSt. Paul Gets Charged Up for Electric Vehicles
As the market for electric vehicles (EVs) grows and local dealerships begin stocking more of them, consumers will be thinking about where to find charging stations. While most EV owners charge their...
View ArticleSolar Projects Popping Up Along the Energy Innovation Corridor
Minneapolis has big hopes for renewable energy in the city, with a goal of 1MW installed renewable capacity by 2014. A large step toward this goal was completed in 2011 with six individual solar...
View ArticleDiscovering Science on the Range in the Field of Energy (DSRFE) project
Director and Instructor of the Center for Renewable Energy Education & Demonstration, Roger Aiken recently took some time to sit down with CERTs own Joel Haskard to talk about the Discovering...
View ArticleFresh greens in the dead of winter: Garden Goddess greenhouse project
If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, Chuck Waibel and Carol Ford should be blushing. In the fall and winter of 2012 in Ashby, Minnesota, Paradox Farm used Waibel and Ford’s model for...
View ArticleCookin’ up savings: Energy efficiency workshops held in Cook County
Being an energy efficiency authority requires practicing what you preach—and that is exactly what Cook County is doing. In 2012, Cook County Higher Education and the Cook County Local Energy Project...
View ArticleSolar-powered season extension: High tunnel heating research
High tunnels (also commonly referred to as polytunnels, hoop greenhouses, or hoophouses) are large, generally semi-circle-shaped structures made of polyethylene. Main benefits derived from using the...
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