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,s;~?d€-? 3: P(;R&;~lT GE ENERGY EFFI;;IEiitY 71r About the ci#y Elk River, the Sherburne County seat, is home to over 22,500 people. Estab- lished as a trading post at the junction of the Elk and Mississippi rivers, the city now covers 44 square miles.With over 500 businesses, the city had pro- moted itself as The Light Industrial Hub of the Northwest Metro and has now become a destination for energy- and technology-related businesses.An Elk River landmark, Great River Energy's (GRE) Elk River Station, was home to the nation's first rural nuclear power plant.The power plant at GRE began burning fuel derived from refuse in the 19$Os, contributing to the designa- tion of Elk River as "Energy City." GRE is one of the city's largest employ- ers, with Independent School District 72$, Sherburne County,Wal-Mart, and Guardian Angels of Elk River rounding out the top five. Establishing the green strategy In 1996, the Minnesota Environmental Initiative sought a community that was willing to demonstrate leading-edge alternative energy and energy-effi- cient technologies. Elk River was selected from a list of over 30 communi- ties and was named "Energy City" in 1997.The basic premise behind Energy City is that solutions to environmental problems need to make economic sense to be truly sustainable. Energy City is a unique coalition made up of governmental entities, industries, and environmentalists that meets on a monthly basis to identify potential leading-edge technologies and ideas that can have a positive impact on the environment. The Energy City coalition is not focused on a single project but is instead an ongoing commitment to fording solutions to em~ironmental problems that make economic sense. In this way, Energy City has become an integral part of the Elk River community.Today, 1$ different technologies are demonstrated at 2$ sites in the city, 25 of which are active and toured by groups from around the world. Energy City has evolved from a geographic focus point for demon- stration projects to an integral part of city functions. City officials say it is dif- ficult for city staff and officials not to be involved in resource conservation and renewable energy because of the Energy City demonstrations. Specific projects Multiple examples of energy-efficient technologies can be found in F1k River. A utility-scale wind turbine, built in 2001, serves as a demonstration of renewable sources of energy. GRE uses fuel produced from municipal solid waste to generate power for approximately 30,000 homes. Elk River Munic- ipal Utilities installed a landfill gas electric generating plant at the Elk River Landfill in 2002 to use this otherwise wasted resource.This facility currently serves 15 percent of the community's needs. Elk River is home to the first gold LEED-certified library in the State, and one of the few gold LEED-certified school buildings in the country. Several municipal buildings are heated and cooled with geothermal heat pumps, which use the earth's temperature for heating and air conditioning. A rain garden demonstration project covering 14 acres at Elk River Ford dealership eliminated runoff at the site. ~7~TE iiF sNE EtTtE~ ~EF~R? ?OC°