News

CEE's Sarah Northrup spoke with Mike Miller of the Spark'n Conversations podcast about CEE's career training program and how we support both trainees and contractors in reaching their goals. Sarah and Mike discussed post-training job placement, trainee success stories, and how contractors can get involved in CEE's work as guest speakers, trainers, preferred contractors, and more.

Last week, COPAL and Electrify Everything MN hosted a dynamic, hands-on workshop to help community members take control of their energy future by transitioning to clean electric energy in their homes. Participants explored various ways to replace fossil fuel-based appliances with clean electric alternatives, developing practical, personalized plans for achieving their home energy goals on a realistic timeline.

This article by RMI highlights its Electrify Cohort program that aims to develop and launch programs to help their community members electrify their homes, focusing on heat pumps. CEE's Community Program Manager Matthew Douglas-May explains that joining the the RMI cohort helps them fill out gaps in services around electrification in their communities.

CEE stands out as a bright star, with competitive interest rates and no dealer fees, in this article that underscores the critical need for homeowners to choose solar project lenders wisely.

This article by Contracting Business describes the new partnership of U.S. Department of Energy and heat pump manufacturers to improve the energy efficiency and performance of RTUs in cold weather in a program called the Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator Challenge. CEE has been chosen as one of the partner members in the program.

CEE's Ben Schoenbauer & Arbor Otalora-Fadner talked recently with MyVillager (St. Paul biweekly) about heat pump water heaters — from vetted tech advantages to upcoming incentives that help make HP water heaters "a good entry point for people to get into electrification."

ComEd's new Go Electric site provides information to help customers consider the benefits and options of switching to high-efficiency heat pumps. CEE's Ranal Tudawe believes the site will help customers learn how heat pumps can be a cost-effective solution for space heating, with tools to estimate how they can save on energy bills and carbon emissions, and resources to find trained contractors to install the perfect system for their home.

On Sept. 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $90 million in competitive awards to help states, cities, tribal nations, and their partners implement updated energy codes for residential and commercial buildings. CEE has been named as one of the recipients of the awards for our work to advance energy codes by developing a statewide residential stretch code, addressing compliance challenges, and expanding implementation support throughout Minnesota’s tribal nations and rural communities.

In this news story by WCCO News, we take a look at a family from Minneapolis and their experience with the home weatherization program, a new part of the Minneapolis Climate Legacy Initiative aimed to save energy costs while supporting low-income residents and businesses. The program begins with a free visit from the city's Home Energy Squad. Home Energy Squad is provided by Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, delivered by CEE.

Bloomington residents have a shot at curbing those pesky energy bills, thanks to a suite of home energy rebates aimed at boosting household efficiency. CEE has paired up with the Bloomington Housing and Redevelopment Authority offering, low-interest loans to residents whose earnings are on the leaner side. These financial instruments are a critical tool in the city’s arsenal, empowering qualifying homeowners to overhaul their living spaces without the brute weight of upfront costs.