With the help of three generous anonymous donors, any gift of $10 to $50 given between 12:00AM and 11:59PM on April 24 was matched. If the giver spread word of his or her donation on Facebook or Twitter, that gift was matched again!

And the results are in. Because of nearly 100 generous donors, we raised over $6,400 in 24 hours! We’d also like to congratulate Erik Ostrom, Michelle Van Engen, Amy Dritz, and Paul Noble, the lucky winners of our $50 GiveMN gift card giveaway.

A big thank you to everyone who donated, encouraged their friends and family to do the same, and helped spread the word on Facebook and Twitter! And of course, a huge round of thanks to our three anonymous matching fund donors, without whom this event would not have been possible. You know who you are!

For Immediate Release: Friday, May 11, 2012

Media Contacts:
Lynn Hinkle, MnSEIA: 612-310-4742
Kate Ellis, Fresh Energy: 651-308-9709
Ken Bradley, Environment MN: 651-238-5376

SAINT PAUL, MN – The Minnesota legislature has passed and the Governor has signed HF1752/SF1463, an approximately $500 million bonding bill that included an option for public buildings to utilize solar energy. This will help state schools, hospitals, police stations, and other public buildings to install solar energy this year and into the future. Together, with the Legislature, the Governor and his agencies’ support, this measure is a good first step towards creating jobs in both construction and manufacturing across Minnesota.

This provision will allow public building projects financed by bonding to use 5 percent of the project cost for solar photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal systems, providing local, clean energy for electricity, heating, and cooling for our public buildings. Best of all, the fuel is free, bringing long-term utility bill savings to thousands of Minnesota public buildings – including classrooms in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) and other state-funded buildings. This translates to direct savings for those responsible for paying the state utility bills – the taxpayers.

As Randy Hagen, president of Solar Skies in Alexandria points out: “Including solar on Minnesota’s schools, hospitals, and other public buildings in the bonding bill shows bipartisan support for Minnesota-made energy and companies like Solar Skies. It provides a way to grow solar manufacturing in the state—bringing jobs to Minnesota—and reducing the heating costs of our public buildings.”

This legislation is an opportunity for more money in taxpayers’ pocketbooks and more jobs for Minnesotans. Shar Knutson, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said, “The AFL-CIO applauds this bipartisan solar bonding provision as a path to get Minnesota workers back on the job and create good, local, union jobs in clean energy for Minnesota. Solar is a booming business and we want to make sure that Minnesota’s working men and women are at the forefront of manufacturing and installing Minnesota’s solar energy future.”

Many Minnesota business partners supported the legislation, including Gary Shaver president and CEO of Silicon Energy, based in Mt. Iron, who praised the job creation and economic development potential of this bonding provision.

“As Minnesota’s newest solar manufacturer, we are excited that Minnesota has made a commitment to install Made in Minnesota solar products on state buildings in the bonding bill,” Shaver said. “Minnesota’s Legislature and Governor Dayton’s focus on nurturing Minnesota’s nascent renewable energy industry through the passage of this bonding provision not only promotes the use of clean, renewable energy in Minnesota, it also helps to sustain existing renewable energy manufacturing jobs and create new ones, especially in areas of the state that have been plagued with high unemployment and stagnant economies. Silicon Energy would especially like to recognize the Iron Range legislative delegation for their ongoing dedication and commitment to enlightened energy policy and local economic growth through local manufacturing. Silicon Energy remains committed to the view that the United States can not only design world class products, but also support our local economies through the local manufacturing of these products.”

Solar Works for Minnesota is a statewide coalition of over 150 businesses, labor groups, and nonprofits working to advance solar energy in Minnesota. The coalition includes the BlueGreen Alliance, Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association (MnSEIA), Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Environment Minnesota, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Izaak Walton League Midwest Office, and the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG).

Solar Works for Minnesota applauds the bipartisan work of the Minnesota Legislature to create jobs, support business, increase clean and local energy production, and advance solar energy in Minnesota by passing this legislation.

For more information visit www.SolarMN.org.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce (the state’s energy agency) analyzed both sets of costs for the plants and this week filed official comments at the PUC concluding that regulators should require Minnesota Power to shut down its Laskin 1 and 2 plants in Hoyt Lakes and the Taconite Harbor 3 plant on the North Shore “no later than 2016.”  Additionally, the comments said “the commission should require MP to shut down its Boswell 1 and 2 coal-fired generating plants by 2020 unless circumstances change in the near future.”

In an interview broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman explained: “It’s a very expensive proposition to continue to maintain plants that were built in the 50s and 60s.” The Minnesota Department of Commerce reports that closing Minnesota Power’s five oldest coal-fired units would save customers as much as $450 million.

Fresh Energy has also analyzed future power plant costs and filed comments on the baseload diversification study, recommending that the PUC require Minnesota Power to set a timeline and make a plan for retiring and replacing the dirtiest coal plant units in the next few years.

Late in 2010, the PUC required a second utility, Otter Tail Power, to conduct a baseload diversification study for its Hoot Lake coal-fired power plant.

Read more in the Duluth News Tribune.

HIGHWIRE:

COAL: The state Department of Commerce says a northern Minnesota utility should plan to shut down three coal-burning units by 2016, and two more by 2020. (Duluth News Tribune)

HIGHWIRE: A Senate bill, backed by efficiency advocates, builders and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would require home appraisers to factor energy savings into their estimates.

ELECTRIC CARS: A Wisconsin factory will produce high-speed charging stations that can power an electric car in 15 to 30 minutes. (Milwaukee Journal Star)

POLITICS: President Obama urges Congress to extend expiring tax incentives for renewable energy. (The Hill)

HIGHWIRE: A St. Paul filmmaker’s aerial photos show the scale of Wisconsin’s frac sand mines.

OIL: A report from a group of corporate officials and retired military officers says a surge in U.S. oil production won’t shield the country from price spikes or reduce military commitments in the Middle East. Also, Warren Buffet says he supports the Keystone XL pipeline. (The Hill)

MISSOURI: A proposed ballot measure to increase Missouri’s renewable energy standard to 25 percent has failed to get enough signatures. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

CLIMATE: Corporate donors and even some staff are abandoning the Heartland Institute following its short-lived billboard campaign linking climate activism to murderers and terrorists. (ClimateWire)

HIGHWIRE: Advocates for tougher efficiency standards in Minnesota and Illinois point to Habitat for Humanity for examples of how efficient homes can still be affordable.

COAL: Xcel Energy will undergo a “deep dive analysis” of its future power needs over the next year, including a look at the future of its largest Minnesota coal plant. (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

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Sending a message

Before State Farm made its decision, members posted open letters to the company and sent emails to their agents. Here’s the email Fresh Energy’s executive director Michael Noble sent to his State Farm agent early yesterday.

I appreciate our long business relationship and the security and peace of mind you have given to me and my family since 1988. Perhaps I could find less expensive homeowner insurance or auto insurance from many competing companies, but I value your long service and the good name of State Farm.

However, I am writing today to express my strong concern for a sponsorship relationship that State Farm has with an unethical organization called the Heartland Institute, based in Chicago. State Farm’s support for this group enables them to play a reprehensible role on of using ad hominem attacks on people who are concerned about climate change.

Last week, the group initiated an advertising campaign equating concern for global warming with people such as Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber), Charles Manson, Fidel Castro, and Osama bin Laden. Literally, in their press materials announcing this billboard campaign, the organization wrote:

“The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.”

Really? The most prominent people concerned about climate change are murderers, tyrants, and madmen?

After 24 hours and a hugely negative reaction from around the world, the Heartland Institute ended the ad campaign, but sent out this message repeating all the ugly points of the billboard campaign, emphasizing “we do not apologize.”

The issue also has a very real connection to State Farm’s risk management and property insurance business. As you most likely are aware, climate change has been demonstrated to cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, wildfires, heat waves, severe rainfall, storm events, and flooding. According to financial experts, these types of disasters cost the property insurance industry many billions of dollars, and are therefore forcing up costs for your consumers, like me.

It is unconscionable that State Farm would finance an extreme advocacy group that is driving up insurance costs with its long track record of obfuscation and misinformation. In my judgment, after monitoring this organization’s work and communications for a decade or more, its primary purpose is to thwart any positive response on climate change. Rather than ignoring or demonizing people who are concerned about climate change, we need to listen to them and respond, so communities can manage the changes that are unavoidable, and avoid the changes that are unmanageable.

With its stellar brand name and its commitment to loss prevention and safety, State Farm should not be allied with this organization or fund it in any way.

Please examine this news coverage of other insurance companies acting to end their support for Heartland. In addition, please review this open letter sent today to State Farm written by a professor of climate science, Scott Mandia.

I look forward to a formal response from State Farm within two weeks, and will check back on May 21 to see if there has been a favorable resolution of the matter.

Stand up for State Farm

Fresh Energy praises State Farm for taking a stand on the extreme propaganda, hatefulness, and ignorance of the Heartland Institute’s billboard campaign.

Want to show your support of State Farm’s decision? Check out the announcement State Farm made on its Facebook page and add your own comment of support!

Photo: Heartland Institute

MILITARY GOES GREEN:

MEANWHILE: The Heartland Institute launches a Chicago-area billboard campaign comparing “global warming alarmists” to the Unabomber, Charles Manson and Fidel Castro. (The Hill)

EFFICIENCY: The rush to take the lead in LED lighting has spawned patent lawsuits worldwide; GE is predicting LEDs will represent 70 to 80 percent of the lighting market by 2020. (Bloomberg)

COAL: Citing economic conditions, the operators of Chicago’s Fisk and Crawford coal plants are moving up their shutdown dates to this September. (Midwest Energy News)

TRANSPORTATION: Under an austerity plan released Monday, Illinois will cut spending on streets and highways by 20 percent over the next six years. (Chicago Tribune)

OPINION: No, wind farms are not causing global warming, despite what you might have heard from Fox News. (The Washington Post)

HIGHWIRE: Minnesota’s home builders association says an updated energy code will add thousands to the cost of new homes, but individual builders who already use energy saving methods and materials say the association is exaggerating the costs.

ELECTRIC CARS: A Southfield, Mich., Chevrolet dealer is selling 25 Volts per month. Most dealers have been selling about one per month. Forbes looks at how the Michigan dealer is doing it. (Forbes)

HIGHWIRE: An Illinois utility’s coal-fired power plants are unnecessary and will soon be uneconomical, too, according to a new study by the Sierra Club. Midwest Generation dismissed the findings and said it’s still evaluating the facilities.

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One contentious issue is $25 million in bonding to keep the Southwest Light Rail line on track for an on-time departure in 2018. The posturing on Southwest has been session-long: Governor Mark Dayton included it in his bonding proposal, but Republican legislators have explicitly opposed it, or, more passively, refused to commit support. Their motivation could be either resistance to rail transit or strategic political positioning for a final compromise.

DIVERGENT OPINIONS ON LIGHT RAIL

Just yesterday, Republican Senator Dave Thompson from Lakeville told the Star Tribune, “I think what people expect is that we use bonding money to make sure we have enough lanes on our roads, that we repair the potholes on our existing roads and we take care of our buildings.” He wants a small bonding bill, but he’s also making an implicit statement about Southwest as well.

Meanwhile, the expectations for Southwest have been growing over the last week with the Star Tribune reiterating strong support for the line and the St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin West, Edina, and Eden Prairie Chambers of Commerce reinforcing their support.

It’s sure to be messy. We hope an agreement is reached to move Southwest forward as it is essential for supporting economic development while reducing our dependence on oil.

SOLAR:

POLITICS: If you see a campaign ad about energy, odds are it’s being paid for by oil companies, which are outspending the Obama campaign 10-to-1 on energy ads. A Koch-funded ad campaign in eight election swing states accuses President Obama of wasting billions of dollars on green energy. (Mother Jones, Reuters)

HIGHWIRE: Is the EPA out to “crucify” oil and gas companies?

POLLUTION: A new report from the American Lung Association says air quality is improving, but more than 127 million Americans are still exposed to high levels of pollution. In the annual survey, Minnesota fared poorly, and South Dakota received declining marks. (Huffington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, KSFY)

POLITICS: The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is planning a push to repeal or weaken state renewable energy mandates. (Bloomberg)

SMART GRID: ComEd plans to deploy 4 million smart meters across northern Illinois over the next 20 years. (Chicago Sun-Times)

SOLAR: A Michigan tribe has started its own solar company, and is developing a major project at a hotel/casino outside Battle Creek. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

CLIMATE: A new study finds climate change will have a greater impact on corn prices over the coming decades than trade policies or biofuel mandates. (New York Times)

HIGH-SPEED RAIL: The Federal Railroad Administration has opened bidding for 130 high-speed rail passenger cars, 88 of which will be destined for Midwest states. (Chicago Tribune)

ELECTRIC CARS: Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is touring conservative think tanks asking his fellow Republicans to stop politicizing the Chevy Volt. (Politico)

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At first, improving the efficiency of rental properties seems like a straightforward idea. Apartment buildings present a huge opportunity for energy savings because of their high density, and tenants want to save energy because it lowers their utility bills. But many of the techniques a homeowner can use to save energy—weatherization, window upgrades, or more efficient appliances—aren’t possible because the tenant doesn’t own the property. Landlords, on the other hand, don’t have an incentive to make the upgrades because they aren’t paying the electricity bill.

SPLIT INCENTIVE SOLUTIONS

A new report from MN2020, called Sensible Incentives: Enabling Energy Efficiency in Rental Housing, takes a closer look. The report focuses specifically on refrigerators in rental housing units, determining the amount of money and energy saved by swapping inefficient appliances for new, energy-efficient ones. According to the study, “replacing the nearly 88,000 refrigerators over 10 years of age in Minnesota rental properties would save renters well over a staggering $3.7 million a year.” And that’s just one appliance!

The report also suggests the following three policy solutions to improve efficiency in rental units:

• customized Conservation Improvement Programs for large rental property owners that provide rebates for the replacement of old, inefficient refrigerators
• mandated disclosure for apartment buildings’ public energy use so that people know how much they are going to pay in energy costs for a rental unit, similar to how water heaters and refrigerators give you an estimate of estimated annual energy usage already
• a pilot on-bill financing program for appliance upgrades that serve rental housing— a tool that allows customers to pay for energy efficiency investments though their utility bills by spreading the cost for the improvements out over time and paying them back slowly as part of their utility bills.

The report is based on work by Fresh Energy and Humphrey Institute Capstone students Will Nissen and John Mitchell in 2011 (Nissen is now a policy fellow at MN2020).

For more information visit MN2020’s website.

Photo: St. Peter’s Community News on Flickr

Earth Tuesday started bright and early at 12:00AM this morning—yes, we’re already tired—and it’ll go until 11:59PM tonight. (Somebody make some more coffee!) When the day is through, we’re hoping we helped at least 150 donors make the most of their donation dollars.

Need more information? Here are five reasons why today is the best day of the year to donate to Fresh Energy.

1. You don’t have to give a million dollars. Earth Tuesday is about gifts that anyone can give. In fact, only gifts between $10 and $50 will be matched.
2. For every dollar you give, Fresh Energy could really get three. While your gift is immediately matched dollar for dollar, you can gain an extra match by sharing your donation on Facebook and Twitter. If you do that, your $10 gift is—POOF! —automatically $30! And your gift of $50 turns into $150!
3. You might win a prize for yourself. Once the 24 hours are up, an impartial panel of Fresh Energy staff members will determine which four donors were the most creative and effective in spreading the word of their Earth Tuesday donation. These lucky folks will each win a $50 GiveMN gift card that they can give to the nonprofit of their choice. And hey, we wouldn’t be upset if you decided to give it to Fresh Energy!
4. There’s a hashtag! We’re using #EarthTuesday all day on Twitter to help track donor involvement and spread the word of how it’s going. Follow along to see how your donation is motivating others. And you never know, we may even post a few surprises along the way.
5. Make our anonymous donors happy. The Earth Tuesday triple match is only possible because of three extremely generous anonymous donors. You don’t want to disappoint them, do you? Of course you don’t.