Exciting things are on the horizon in Crookston, Minnesota, and it’s not just the sight of a survey crew mapping the future home of a renewable energy project outside town.
There’s a transformative new initiative in town that Fresh Energy is proud to be a part of: Empower Crookston, a group working together to improve quality of life, boost the local economy, and make energy more affordable for residents.
Empower Crookston is made up of local organizations and community leaders collaborating to secure state and federal funding for things like energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy projects. These projects invest in the city’s workforce, businesses, and infrastructure, and are a testament to how the energy transition can revitalize communities across Minnesota.
Empower Crookston members meet weekly to discuss funding opportunities, grant applications, and the status of its proposed projects. Coffee burbles into cups, neighbors walk table to table to catch up with each other, and week by week, Crookston is crystallizing its clean energy future.
Fresh Energy joined the University of Minnesota Crookston Men’s Basketball team this fall for a door-knocking effort (pictured above). Over several evenings, 21 members of the team and three coaches distributed over 500 flyers about energy efficiency rebates and tax incentives. Athletes helped residents complete a quality-of-life survey and build support for more clean energy work in the community.
But Empower Crookston isn’t just about upgrading the city’s homes to be clean and energy efficient; a number of clean technology projects are also in the works. A 4.8-megawatt hybrid renewable energy system is conducting site assessments outside of town. If built, the wind, solar, and battery storage system would power essential services like the Fire Department, EMS, City Hall, and the local hospital with reliable, clean power.
In addition, the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) is exploring a closed-loop geothermal system to heat and cool the campus of 1,500 students. By drawing on the steady warmth of the earth’s crust, this geothermal system would let UMC harness natural heat to warm campus buildings in winter and send excess warmth back into the ground during summer — all powered by increasingly-clean electricity instead of fossil fuels.
Empower Crookston is more than a collection of community energy projects. It’s a vision for how Minnesota’s cities are leading the energy transition by building stronger, cleaner communities. Week by week, Crookston is growing to be a shining example of what Minnesotans are capable of when we collaborate on mutually beneficial, innovative projects.
Click here to listen to a recent episode of the “City Climate Corner” podcast co-hosted by Abby Finis and Representative Larry Kraft and get the scoop from Fresh Energy’s John Vaughn and other members of the Empower Crookston team.
