MINNESOTA ENERGY

Brings back memories of hanging out at the Daily offices and making late night layout runs to the printer on my motorcycle in 1980.

Energy a hot topic at IREE symposium; Transitioning from fossil fuel energy sources is no longer a choice, but a need.
Bryce Haugen, November 29, 2006 (The Minnesota Daily)

- Take one part crops, a splash of wind, a hefty dose of entrepreneurial spirit and one esteemed public research university to create a recipe for Minnesota…to become energy independent - if it harnesses them effectively…the University's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment hosted its third annual research symposium…
- Transitioning from fossil-fuel energy sources isn't a choice, but rather a necessity… "Our economy is toast if we don't do it right," [Lanny Schmidt, a University chemical engineering and materials sciences professor] said. "This is the major challenge of the century."
- Since 2003, the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment has distributed nearly $20 million for more than 110 projects involving about 275 University faculty, scientists and students.
- The initiative brings together several disparate University entities and takes a several-pronged approach…hydrogen power…solar power and…energy from biofuels…At the IREE symposium, University researchers displayed the fruits of their labor…

- Developing renewable energy could help revive Minnesota's struggling rural economy by creating new industries and jobs…The corn-based ethanol industry has already pumped more than $1.5 billion and 5,800 jobs into Minnesota's economy…
- Minnesota politicians from both parties strongly support the research efforts - including Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has set a goal of having 25 percent of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2025…