Elk River, Minnesota

ELK R I VER , MINNESOTA forward to working with another group, currently considering other opportunities within the downtown area.” In the late 1980s, an electrical power plant in town operated by Great River Energy (GRE) was converted to burn refuse-derived fuel. This innovative source of energy was one factor that helped Elk River receive the designation of “Energy City” by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative in October 1997. “It was a contest between us and 30 other cities,” says Portner. “With this designation, we are a demonstration city for sustainable and renewable energy resources. Unfortunately, the GRE waste-to-energy plant in town recently closed, so we’re looking to repurpose the area and we’re excited about the new opportunity. We have a landfill-to-gas collaboration with Waste Management and Sherburne County, where they take the methane gas off of the landfill, clarify it, use it to fuel generators that produce electricity and push it back into the grid.” “We also are a participant in the Climate Smart Municipalities Program,” Portner continues. “This is a partnership between six cities in the State of Minnesota, and six cities in North Rhein- Westphalia, Germany. Iserlohn is our partner city.” The Climate Smart Municipalities Program is coordinated by the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and funded through the German government’s Transatlantikprogramm. The goal is to learn about the unique energy and climate issues the partner cities face and collaborate to create innovative programs and practices that will push the participants toward becoming more sustainable communities, both locally and globally. “We have three electric charging stations in town,” Portner notes, “and our municipal electric utility and the city each have electric vehicles. We’ve purchased two hybrid squad cars – Ford Explorers that are partially battery-powered, as well. We own solar panel arrays in partnership with our municipal utility and the electric power provider, Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, they purchase power from. We have two LEED-certified buildings in town: one is our public library and another is Thomas Armoneit; Environmental Coordinator, Amanda Erickson; City Administrator, Calvin Portner; Ulrike Badizura Minnesota Climate Smart Municipalities delegation visit to Saerbeck, Germany One of three electric vehicle charging stations in the city