Center for Energy and Environment

With the explosion of AI tools and their rapid adoption by the public, data centers are popping up all over the country. Minnesota's goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2040 has attracted the interest of companies like Amazon, Meta, and Google, as they work to identify locations for data centers to meet their growing energy needs. 🏢⚡ While residents prize our 10,000 lakes, bike paths, and beautiful seasons, these corporations are interested in how our reliable grid and growing clean energy sector can help them achieve their own sustainability and energy efficiency goals. Hear from CEE's Rachel Campbell on how, with the right regulations and careful planning, our state has a strategic opportunity to incorporate data centers into our clean energy future: https://hubs.ly/Q03fR_zd0

Working through your spring cleaning? Add a home energy audit to the checklist, like St. Louis Park homeowner James Vair! 💡☑️ Check out this story from KARE 11 to learn how Home Energy Squad Auditor Matt Morrical helped Vair identify steps toward making his home more energy efficient: https://hubs.ly/Q03fQ01x0 Xcel Energy CenterPoint Energy

This March, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy's revised space-heating rate, for which CEE staff provided analysis and detailed recommendations. These new rates make dual fuel systems, with electric space heating and an efficient gas heating backup, cost-competitive with all natural gas heating and a standard central air conditioning (AC) unit. Learn more in our newest blog post: https://hubs.ly/Q03dL17c0

Achieving a carbon-neutral economy that works for all people requires determination, creativity, and passion. Join our team and help us make it happen! 💡🌱 Named a 2024 Top 200 Workplace in Minnesota by the Star Tribune, and a 2025 Top Workplace by USA Today, CEE champions open door communications, respect for diverse backgrounds and points of view, and work-life balance. View our open positions and submit your application: https://hubs.ly/Q03dB1FB0

CEE staff will soon be packing their bags for the National Home Performance Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana! 🎺🎭 Will we see you there? Make sure to check out several of our team members in action as presenters: ▪️ Sage Berglund (Workforce Training Manager) ▪️ David Bohac (Senior Research Engineer) ▪️ Sarah N. (Workforce Program Manager) ▪️ Rebecca Olson (Vice President of Community Energy Solutions) ▪️ Steve Sylvestre (Initiative Manager, High Performance Windows) ▪️ Dan Wildenhaus (Senior Technical Manager) Find more info, including conference schedule, here: https://hubs.ly/Q03dzG_g0

Are you a business development and marketing expert with a proven track record in support of energy efficiency and clean energy? 🌱💡 Apply to be our Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Marketing! This newly created position will serve on CEE’s executive leadership team and lead a department that includes marketing, relationship management, and proposal development functions. Top candidates will bring a history of clean energy relationships, industry knowledge, and demonstrated past successes in business development, strategic marketing, and organizational growth. Learn more about the position and apply: https://hubs.ly/Q03dtbXn0

Help us give a big congrats to CEE’s Rebecca Olson, who has been promoted to Vice President of Community Energy Solutions! 🎉 Rebecca, who joined CEE in 2012, has led CEE’s residential and community programs through enormous growth. With her outside-the-box thinking and knack for collaboration, Rebecca has forged meaningful partnerships to bring innovative programs to life. In 2021, she spearheaded the creation of CEE’s workforce development program, which has trained 235 students in home energy auditing, HVAC, and insulation. Rebecca has also been instrumental in expanding CEE’s work with Prairie Island Indian Community, where her team is working with Tribal staff and local contractors to decarbonize homes on the reservation. As VP of Community Energy Solutions, Rebecca will be responsible for strategy development and execution of programs in the residential, lending, communities, and training and education departments. We can’t wait to see Rebecca's continued impact in this new role.

We're excited to announce that CEE’s Carl Nelson has been promoted to Vice President of Market Energy Solutions! 🎉 Carl is a seasoned industry veteran known for his role in pushing innovation in program implementation. He oversees the market transformation efforts of the organization, including the Efficient Technology Accelerator, a statewide market transformation effort funded by Minnesota’s investor-owned utilities. Since his start at CEE in 2008, Carl has designed and managed numerous energy efficiency programs — including two ACEEE "Exemplary Program" award winners — and has developed and overseen nearly a dozen pilot programs. As VP of Market Energy Solutions, Carl will lead operations and business and development strategy in several key areas of the organization: market transformation, small and medium business programming, and commercial and industrial programming. Congratulations to Carl!

CEE is a 2025 USA TODAY Top Workplace! 🎉 Top Workplaces celebrates organizations with 150 or more employees that have built great cultures. Over 42,000 organizations were invited to participate in the Top Workplaces USA survey, and winners were selected based solely on results from an employee engagement survey. Thanks to each and every member of our team for their dedication to making CEE the best it can be. Find the full list of winners here: https://hubs.ly/Q03cP3J20

Yesterday, we celebrated the graduation of our winter 2025 Green Construction students! 🎉 🎓 Five grads will be moving on to internships, while the rest of the group will look for other employment opportunities with staff support. The program, which is a joint effort by CEE, Ramsey County, Saint Paul Public Schools, City of Saint Paul, and Saint Paul College-A Community and Technical College, provides community members a paid, 45-hour hands-on training opportunity to jumpstart careers within residential insulation and HVAC. It was created with the goal of growing and strengthening the energy efficiency workforce. Thanks for a great program session, grads! We can't wait to see what you'll accomplish.