Last weekend a couple of local sports teams opted for wind energy to power their games on Feb. 19 and 20 at downtown St. Paul's
Xcel Energy Center.
The
Minnesota Swarm and
Minnesota Wild are the first to take advantage of Xcel's Windsource Events program at the arena, according to Jim Ibister, vice president of facility administration for the Minnesota Wild and general manager of
Saint Paul RiverCentre.
Windsource, which both venues began offering last fall, delivers energy from 20 wind farms across the state, making it one of the largest programs of its kind nationwide, according to Xcel information.
The program helps groups join its efforts for sustainability. "It's something that people are willing to pay more for," though it's surprisingly affordable, he says.
"Windsource is delivered to the [energy] grid," he says. "It's very simple for the client," which "makes it an easy choice to make."
More and more businesses are seeking out such programs at rental venues. "We're finding more and more people are making choices based on sustainability efforts," he says. "It's a way to have a greener event."
Windsource is one of several sustainability initiatives underway at the multiple-building campus. The centers jointly have a plan to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent and shrink its carbon footprint by 80 percent within three years.
In the fall of 2009, the centers initiated a plan to dramatically reduce waste, which Ibister describes as its "most public and most interactive" initiative.
More recently, the RiverCentre started installing a large solar thermal array on its
rooftop as yet another way to reduce its carbon footprint.
It's trying to get the programs to be part of the culture and language at the venues, with as much involvement from workers and visitors as possible early on. "[If] you make it difficult to fail" it can lead to bigger steps, Ibister says.
Source: Jim Ibister, vice president for facilities administration for the Minnesota Wild
Writer: Anna Pratt