Report installed private sector-owned renewable energy/energy efficient generation capacity with at least one of the following attributes:
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Describe existing installations. Report city government community solar garden subscriptions and green tag purchases under BPA 15.2; report third party solar purchases under BPA 26.5; report municipal wastewater biogas projects under BPA 20.6; solid waste anaerobic digestion under BPA 22.5; municipal geothermal under BPA 1.7; brightfield projects under BPA 25.5. |
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Report installed kW capacity. |
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Report utility-scale projects (for example, a 1+ MW community solar garden). Link to stories or case studies that provide more detail about the private sector projects and share any workforce training efforts or work with local, Minority, Disability, and Women-Owned businesses associated with projects. Report city government energy purchases from this garden under action 15.2. |
Resources
- Project assistance, case studies and technical information is available from MN's Clean Energy Resource Teams and from the MN Renewable Energy Society. See also the Solar Directory web site to find produce and service companies that can help plan, implement and manage clean energy projects.
- The Great Plains Institute works on manure digesters, biogas and biofuels. And although not technically a renewable fuel, landfill gas is increasingly captured for energy generation in Minnesota.
- District Energy St. Paul, one of several combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Minnesota, runs North America's largest hot water district heating system, in addition to distributing chilled water, and is fueled in part by wood waste. In March 2011, they added North America's largest solar thermal production to the system. District Energy St. Paul's for-profit consulting, operation, and management firm is Ever-Green Energy.
- See background on microgrids and the role of microgrids in helping to advance the nation's energy system and the in-depth Minnesota Microgrids: Barriers, Opportunities, and Pathways Toward Energy Assurance (Microgrid Institute: 2013).
- In 2016, a microgrid powering a new Bloomington office building went online. 2021 energy legislation included funding to expand microgrid testing and hands-on educational opportunities at the University of St. Thomas.
- Increasingly tied to microgrids is energy storage (BPA 29).
Sublist
a. Fueled by sun, wind, or biogas.
b. Fueled in part or whole by manure or woody (EAB) biomass, optimized for minimal air and other environmental impacts and for energy efficiency and water conservation.
c. Distributing heating/cooling services in a district energy system.
d. Producing combined heat and power; using a microgrid.
e. Energy storage integrated into a renewable energy installation.
Order Number
6
Action Type
Finite