On October 28, 2025, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the State Energy Office of Minnesota, hosted its inaugural Energy Project Resource Summit at the Theodore Wirth Chalet in Minneapolis. This one-day meeting convened school district leaders and stakeholders to highlight resources from Commerce to support energy-efficient and healthy school facilities. The agenda featured presentations and interactive discussions on strategies to improve classroom air quality, achieve energy cost savings, procure electric school bus fleets, finance projects, and access state funding and technical assistance. Attendees could visit resource tables and connect directly with representatives from Commerce and event partners for program guidance.
With more than half of participants representing school districts, this event was also an opportunity to showcase leading school districts and how they have benefited from participating in state programs. One such district is Red Lake Schools, whose Superintendent Tim Lutz offered keynote remarks on its experience working with Commerce to electrify the school bus fleet, install solar panels, upgrade HVAC systems, and integrate energy topics into the curriculum. Looking ahead, Commerce intends to adapt this in-person event approach to other topics and energy priorities.
The event agenda and presentations can be found here. Please contact Kari Moeller (kari.moeller@state.mn.us) with any questions or Jasmine Xie (jxie@naseo.org) for guidance on replicating this event in your state.