ECCSR INFORMATION 08-17-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

For Information Only (Article for the City's News Letter) New Energy City Commission The Elk River City Council recently voted to create an "Energy City Commission". In addition, the city is considering requesting special legislation or possibly a gubernatorial designation as "Energy City". Elk River has been known as "Energy City" since 1997 when the Minnesota Environmental Initiative choose it out from over 30 other applying communities to act as a geographical focal point for demonstrating energy efficient and renewable energy technology, services and products. It is anticipated that the newly created Commission will take Energy City to the next level. Energy City is the right thing to do environmentally. The production and consumption of energy is the number one manmade source of contamination facing the world today. The idea behind Energy City is that solutions to this problem have to make economic sense as well as environmental sense to be sustainable. The demonstrations in Energy City have an opportunity to succeed or fail under both of these criteria. Energy's effect on the economy. Energy is one of the major issues facing the world's economy and it promises to be an even bigger factor in the future. Every dollar spent on foreign energy is a dollar that won't be used to pay wages in America. Minnesota is second in the nation to only California for the number of energy related companies it contains. Some of the leading experts from those Minnesota energy related companies are already investing their time and energy into Energy City. As Energy City, the City of Elk River anticipates attracting energy related companies and business of all kinds through innovative energy saving programs and incentive. Some of the more notable Energy City demonstrations include: - The wind generator on Highway 169. - The Elk River Landfill's "Landfill Gas-to-Electricity Project". This project will be producing enough electricity to meet the yearly needs of approximately 2,200 homes by the end of this year from a resource that would otherwise be wasted (landfill gas). The original generator at the landfill received the US Environmental Protection Agency's project of the year in 1998. - In cooperation with the Suburban Northwest Builders Association two Energy Houses have been built and the third is currently being constructed. These houses demonstrated a wide range of energy efficient and renewable energy building materials, construction practices and technologies (e.g. geothermal heat pumps). The