Dan Haugen

Freelance Journalist ::: Energy : Sustainability : Technology :::

Archive for the ‘Minnesota’ Category

Solar suppliers try to find place in the sun

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On their way to becoming solar-electric panels, more than half of the world’s silicon solar cells produced today reportedly pass through a furnace made by a century-old Lakeville manufacturer. What’s more, the company only started supplying the solar industry four years ago. Despatch Industries now owns more than 60 percent of the global market for firing furnaces used in solar cell production, according to John Farrell, managing director of Despatch’s solar business group — its largest segment last year. Despatch has shipped hundreds of solar cell furnaces to China, Taiwan and other Asian countries, where most solar cell manufacturing occurs. Yet its role in the solar industry is mostly unknown in Minnesota. More than 100 years ago, the company began making heaters for Minneapolis streetcars. Today, Despatch is part of what Lynn Hinkle, policy development director for the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, calls the state’s “invisible” solar supply chain, a cluster of companies quietly producing parts and equipment for the global solar industry. A new push is under way to shine more light on these solar suppliers in hopes of further building up the industry in Minnesota

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Written by Dan

October 24th, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Posted in Business,Cleantech,Energy,Finance & Commerce,Manufacturing,Minnesota

How will Silicon Energy and TenKsolar manage in oversupplied solar panel market?

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Written by Dan

October 24th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

Posted in Business,Cleantech,Energy,Entrepreneurs,Environment,Finance & Commerce,Manufacturing,Minnesota

Improved forecasts for wind farms could save billions

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If the weather report says it’s supposed to be sunny and breezy tomorrow, do you trust that forecast enough to plan a picnic or hike? Probably. But what if instead of a soggy lunch or wet boots, the efficiency and reliability of the region’s electricity grid was at risk? Those are the stakes that grid operators face around the clock as they incorporate wind power into the system. Wind is a variable energy source, which means, unlike coal or gas plants, grid operators never know precisely how much power wind farms will generate at a given time. They depend on weather forecasts to estimate how much power turbines will produce in the hours and days ahead. Those forecasts are critical for getting the most value — economic and environmental — out of wind energy. A grid operator needs to trust a forecast before it will shut down or reduce generation at more expensive and polluting fossil fuel plants. “If grid operators have more confidence in our weather forecasts, they’ll be able to avoid burning excessive fossil fuels,” says Melinda Marquis, a renewable energy program manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That’s why NOAA recently partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy on a study called the Wind Forecast Improvement Project, which will attempt to measure the economic value of improved forecasting to the energy industry. There’s reason to believe that it’s significant. Marquis is co-author of a report published in the September issue of the Bulletin of American Meteorological Society that pegs the number somewhere between $1 billion and $4 billion annually, based on previously published studies.(Continue reading…)

Written by Dan

October 6th, 2011 at 12:07 am

Posted in Cleantech,Energy,Midwest Energy News,Minnesota

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Closing the Loop on Electronic Waste

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Make no mistake: Best Buy likes to see customers lining up for that next new, must-have gadget. The consumer electronics retailer is in the business of helping people upgrade their technology, whether it’s a mobile phone or a big-screen television.

For every new product, though, there’s often an old one made obsolete: last year’s iPhone, or a clunky analog TV set, or that computer your media collection outgrew. All of this stuff eventually starts to pile up in closets, landfills or incinerators.

It’s an environmental hazard, and it’s a customer hassle. That’s why Best Buy is seeking to help close the loop on the millions of pounds of electronic waste its stores and customers generate each year.

Best Buy has rapidly become a national leader in e-waste recycling since launching an in-store drop-off program in February 2009. Customers at its U.S. stores can bring in just about any old electronics, regardless of where or when they were purchased, and Best Buy will make sure they get recycled responsibly. Last year, the company collected more than 75 million pounds of unwanted electronics. (Continue reading…)

Closing the Loop on Electronic Waste

Written by Dan

September 1st, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Posted in Business,Environment,Minnesota,Momentum,Retail,Technology

States find new ways to make energy efficiency pay for utilities

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Imagine pulling into a gas station and being offered a complimentary tune-up to improve your car’s fuel efficiency. You’d probably wonder: what’s the catch? So how about when your electric utility gives you a free compact fluorescent light bulb? Or your gas company offers to help pay for new windows or a more efficient furnace? Gas and electric utilities have unique relationships with their customers in that they actually spend money on programs to reduce demand for the products they sell. Why is this? Most states require utilities to invest in conservation programs as part of the regulation they accept for being able to operate as regional monopolies. In other words, they’re doing it because they have to. A growing list of states, however, are experimenting with a new approach. Instead of mandating a minimum investment in energy-efficiency programs, policymakers are designing incentives that reward utilities with new revenue for meeting or exceeding conservation goals.

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Written by Dan

July 26th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Posted in Energy,Environment,Midwest Energy News,Minnesota

Read my story on water scarcity in Twin Cities Business

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I spent a few months this spring looking into the potential risks and opportunities for Minnesota companies as development, pollution, population growth and climate conspire to strain our planet’s fresh water supply. The risk may seem distant here in the land of 10,000 lakes, but in an age when global supply chains span the globe, few industries will be unaffected. Some are already feeling the effects. Meanwhile, the Twin Cities is home to a promising cluster of companies and technologies that could play a role in addressing the coming global crisis. Read more in the July issue of Twin Cities Business magazine.

Written by Dan

July 1st, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Posted in Business,Cleantech,Energy,Environment,Minnesota,Technology,Twin Cities Business

Minnesota wind farm drama may be entering final act

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June 28, 2011, Midwest Energy News —  Two fronts have collided before Minnesota utility regulators, and now, observers on both sides are waiting to see which way the wind will blow in what’s been the state’s highest-profile and hardest-fought battle over wind turbine placement.

The proposed $179 million, 78-megawatt Goodhue Wind project would consist of 50 turbines spanning about 32,000 acres of farm land an hour drive southeast of the Twin Cities. The developer is a subsidiary of Mesa Power Group, which is owned by Texas oil-and-gas tycoon T. Boone Pickens.

Last October, about a year after the developer applied for site permits, Goodhue County adopted a setback ordinance that bans wind turbines within 10 rotor diameters, or about half a mile in this case, of any non-participating neighboring home. That’s in stark contrast with state law in Minnesota, which generally requires setbacks between 750 and 1,500 feet based on noise and other factors.

The local ordinance grew out of grassroots opposition from a group of county residents who fear the turbines will upset their quality of life. The developer, which has partnered with about 200 other local property owners, says the project can’t go through under the local setback rules.

Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission is likely to give its final say on the matter Thursday after months of testimony and discussion. Its decision will be the first major test of a 2007 amendment that gave counties limited authority to adopt more stringent wind setbacks than those spelled out in state law.

“It’s certainly something every wind developer is paying close attention to, because one way or another it affects how they’re going to propose their next project,” said Sarah Johnson Phillips, a renewable energy attorney with Stoel Rives in Minneapolis. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Dan

June 28th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Posted in Cleantech,Energy,Environment,Midwest Energy News,Minnesota

See my cover story in the June issue of Minnesota Business

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When Target started rolling out expanded grocery sections two years ago in its general merchandise stores, the promotions featured the kind of eye-catching design people have come to expect from the retailer. Three-dimensional fruit bulged from billboards over First Avenue. Produce-filled shopping baskets jutted off bus shelters. Light-rail cars were wrapped in oranges, peppers and other grocery store images. The creative juice for the campaign came from a branding and advertising boutique just west of downtown Minneapolis. Knock Inc. produced in-store signage and promotions for the PFresh grocery concept, which is expanding at a rate of about 350 stores per year. The agency also creates Target's seasonal decorations, from the holidays to back-to-school displays. Target is synonymous with good design, but much of the retailer's creative and technical brain trust actually resides outside its Nicollet Mall headquarters. The company routinely hires outside designers and other creatives to help with projects-and not just celebrities like Shaun White or Michael Graves. It goes beyond design, too. From lawyers and consultants to programmers and photographers, scores of small- and medium-size companies play a role in helping Target hit its mark each quarter. It’s the Twin Cities’ Target economy, an entire ecosystem of companies that owe some of their growth and good fortunes even existence, in some cases to the Big Red Bull's-Eye.

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Written by Dan

June 7th, 2011 at 9:39 pm

Posted in Business,Design,Economy,Entrepreneurs,Minneapolis,Minnesota,Minnesota Business,Retail

Global Learners: How Study Abroad Experiences Impact Students

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When she left Rapid City, South Dakota, for the University of Minnesota, Angela Bianco had a pretty good idea that she wanted to study abroad at some point during her academic career. Suddenly she found herself entering her final year as an undergraduate in the elementary education foundations program. She still hadn’t left the continent. The course load for her final year was too specialized to fit traditional study abroad programs, but Bianco found her chance in an intensive three-week global seminar offered over the January winter term. She and two dozen other students traveled with CEHD adviser Nathan Whittaker to South Africa, where they toured historic sites, studied at the University of Cape Town, and volunteered with a nonprofit that cares for AIDS and tuberculosis patients and vulnerable children. Bianco left with the kind of lesson you can’t get from a textbook: “Just to be content with what you have. It sounds like a very cliché thing to say, but you don’t need a whole lot to be happy.” Accessible Programs Short programs held in January or May help the college ensure that students who cannot take advantage of semester-long programs still get to graduate with at least one global experience. A number of programs allow CEHD graduate students to complete degree requirements out of country. Many other students conduct international research alongside faculty. These globetrotting efforts are part of an initiative to further internationalize the College of Education and Human Development. “There’s absolutely no way to avoid it. Our world is interconnected, and we’re preparing tomorrow’s leaders. I think we would be ill preparing them if we did not include a global element to their education,” said Christopher Johnstone, director of international programs and initiatives for the college.

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Written by Dan

May 27th, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Posted in Connect,Minneapolis,Minnesota

Are renewable standards driving up utility rates?

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When Minnesota passed one of the nation’s most aggressive renewable portfolio standards in 2007, Minnkota Power wasted no time in ramping up its wind capacity. Believing the cost of wind power would go up, the Grand Forks, N.D., generation and transmission co-op locked in long-term contracts to cover its needs for the next 25 years. Then the economy went south, dragging electricity demand and wholesale prices down with it. Minnkota, along with the 11 rural electric distributors it serves in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, suddenly found itself stuck with more wind power than it needed. It’s been selling the excess at a loss ever since, making up the difference with a half-cent per kilowatt-hour surcharge on its customers. The fees have helped fuel the perception, particularly among rural electric co-ops, that Minnesota’s renewable energy policy is driving up the price of electricity. Others, though, including state energy officials, point to the utility’s unusually large and early hedge on wind prices as a primary cause of its recent losses. The Minnkota case illustrates just how complicated it can be to calculate the impact of state renewable mandates on electricity rates. Variables such as fuel prices, wholesale rates and energy demand are in constant flux, and decisions about what and when to buy can affect the return on capital investments. With many states’ renewable targets ramping up right as their economies struggle to rebound from the recession, politicians are scrutinizing the costs of renewable policies and requesting information about how they affect electricity rates. They’re not likely to find a simple answer. However, the most comprehensive studies to date and the experience of utilities so far suggest that, by and large, renewable portfolio standards haven’t had a significant impact on customers’ bills. Still, there’s room for more study, and in some states, including Minnesota, there remains relatively little data about the ratepayer impact of renewable policies.

(Continue reading…)

Written by Dan

May 19th, 2011 at 6:39 pm

Posted in Energy,Environment,Midwest Energy News,Minnesota

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