Minnesota spends more than $20 billion annually on energy, yet none of it—coal, oil, uranium, and natural gas—is native to our state. Energy efficiency provides the cheapest, cleanest route to fulfilling our state’s energy needs while creating jobs, significantly reducing pollution, and keeping more money in our local economies. Fresh Energy is pursuing two different pieces of legislation this session that will help Minnesota make the most of energy efficiency.

Today, Minnesota Power filed its Integrated Resource Plan to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, opening a public comment period on how the state’s second largest investor-owned electric utility will improve northern Minnesota’s energy portfolio for the next 15 years.

On February 8, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance requiring large commercial buildings to report and publicly disclose energy consumption, making it the first Midwestern city to adopt such a policy.

If you’ve cut your family’s energy and water use at home, you know your efforts have saved money and helped the environment. But have you wondered if owners of those big buildings in downtown Minneapolis are following suit? The City of Minneapolis is taking steps that will make that information available, building awareness and showcasing commercial buildings that have already beefed up their energy efficiency.

The City of Minneapolis is considering an ordinance that will require disclosure of the amount of energy that public and large commercial buildings use. Submit a comment on the ordinance or attend a public hearing!

If you’ve upgraded your home’s old-fashioned light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs), you already know you’re saving energy and money, reducing emissions from power plants, and minimizing waste. However, you may be discovering that you need to recycle these new light bulbs differently—you can’t just throw them in the trash.

If you own your own home, staying cool during Minnesota’s blistering summers and keeping warm through bone-chilling winters can really take a toll on your pocket book. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average household spends at least $2,000 a year on energy bills—over half of that for heating and cooling.

Unless you’re an insider, you probably have no idea how many electric utility companies there are in Minnesota. You may not even know that not all utility companies are the same.

Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry has proposed adopting a slightly amended version of the International Energy Conservation Code’s (IECC) most recent version—the IECC 2012.

How do you improve the energy efficiency of apartments and other rental units when renters don’t own the property or appliances and landlords don’t see the benefits in their pocketbooks from improvement because they don’t pay the utility bills?