Minnesota

Wind Energy Forum

2008

Paynesville, MN - Landowners and community leaders who want to learn more about navigating the wind energy arena are invited to a special forum on Wednesday, December 3 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Hilltop Restaurant in Paynesville. The seminar will help participants understand general wind information, wind rights and development choices, how to secure an agreement with an energy company, a larger view of the issue, and get a sense of why wind energy is a unique opportunity.

Event type:

Meetings

Geographic Area:

Minnesota

Blue Green Alliance Green Jobs Rally

2008

LABOR LEADERS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO CALL ON GOVERNOR PAWLENTY TO PURSUE ECONOMIC AND GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS

SPEAKERS: Senator Ellen Anderson, Emcee

Jim Hightower, National radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow

Ray Waldron, Minnesota AFL-CIO President

Margaret Levin, Minnesota North Star Sierra Club Chapter Interim Director

Carlos Garcia-Velasco, West Side Citizens Organization Executive Director

Event type:

Special Events

Geographic Area:

Minnesota

Model Wind Energy Ordinance for Minnesota

Minnesota

Zoning

Policy - Local Level

Phase I of Minnesota Dispersed Renewable Generation study available

The passage of the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 by the Minnesota State Legislature and Tim Pawlenty requires a study of the potential for dispersed renewable generation statewide. The study consists of two parts, Phase I and Phase II, which focus on installing a total of 1200MW of new dispersed renewable energy projects with a minimal impact on the transmission grid. As determined by the legislation, project sizes under consideration are limited to between 10 and 40MW.

Opportunity to Invest in Minnesota Wind Power

We hear regularly from people who would like to support community wind energy development but who don't own windy land. Urban dwellers who wish they could do more to promote wind energy and who want to see wind energy development done in a way that benefits local economies will be interested in this article containing information about an intrastate public offering to Minnesota residents interested in investing in wind energy projects in Dodge, Olmsted and Mower counties.

More information:

http://nationalwind.us/files/High%20Country%20Energy%2061208.doc_0.pdf

Spend Your Summer at Windustry

Are you a recent college grad or grad student with a love for renewable energy? Apply to be a summer intern at Windustry!

Click here to download the Summer 2008 Intern position announcement.

Minnesota

General News

SummerIntern2008.pdf

The Path to Community Wind

2008

Event type:

Meetings

Geographic Area:

Minnesota

The Path to Community Wind

2008

Plus two more dates! (see below)

The Southwest Initiative Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Commerce invite you to attend a meeting entitled The Path to Community Wind. Prior to the start of the Dispersed Generation study and at other key points in the process, the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) is statutorily required to hold meetings in each of the five greater Minnesota transmission planning zones. A portion of this meeting will satisfy the requirement for a meeting mid-way through the first phase of this study. The remainder of the meeting is devoted to providing information about a statewide assistance program for rural wind energy development.

Event type:

Meetings

Geographic Area:

Minnesota

New Report from ILSR: "Minnesota Feed-In Tariff Could Lower Cost, Boost Renewables and Expand Local Ownership"

This January 2008 policy brief from the New Rules Project of ILSR highlights how several European countries, and more recently the Canadian province of Ontario, have adopted a simple yet powerful strategy to expand renewable energy and benefit local economies. It is called a feed-in tariff: a mandated, long-term premium price for renewable energy paid by the local electric utility to energy producers. Evidence shows that a feed-in tariff achieves greater results at a lower cost than do other strategies like tax incentives or renewable electricity standards.

Click here to go to the New Rules Project website and download a copy of the report.