Creating Opportunities for Energy Independence January 6 January 6, 2005

State Senator Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) will speak on "Creating Opportunities for Energy Independence" at an energy policy forum at St. Olaf College on January 6. The forum will also feature a panel discussion on state energy policy. The panel will include Senator Anderson, Representative Ray Cox (R-Northfield), St. Olaf Director of Facilities Pete Sandberg, Carleton College Director of Facilities Planning and Management Richard Strong, and RENew Northfield Board President Bruce Anderson.

The forum, to be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Black Room of Buntrock Commons, will engage audience members in a discussion of the role of state policy in creating opportunities for energy independence. Minnesota has been a national leader in development of community-based wind energy projects and biofuels facilities as a result of proactive policy decisions in the past.

Carleton College recently dedicated a 1.65-megawatt wind turbine which will offset about 40% of Carleton's annual electricity consumption, and provide enough clean power for roughly 600 Northfield-area homes. St. Olaf is in the process of developing a similar wind project, as is RENew Northfield.

Both the St. Olaf and RENew Northfield projects are scheduled to begin producing power in 2005. When they are completed, roughly 6% of the Northfield area's electricity will be produced by these locally owned clean energy facilities. These projects, which produce clean energy and keep energy dollars circulating in the local economy, have been possible only because of state policies enacted in recent years. With ongoing state policy support, Northfield and other communities statewide can rapidly move toward energy self-sufficiency by taking advantage of the abundant renewable energy resources in the state, and strengthen local economies in the process.

Senator Anderson, who is a Carleton alumnus, chairs the Minnesota Senate's Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee. Representative Cox, who is a St. Olaf alumnus, is a member of the House of Representatives' Regulated Industries Committee. These two committees are key to the forging of state energy policy.

The forum is sponsored by the St. Olaf Student Government Association's Political Awareness Committee, RENew Northfield, and the St. Olaf American Studies, Economics, Environmental Studies and Political Science departments. Additional information is available from RENew Northfield at (507)645-7133.