Ellen Anderson, RE-AMP member and Executive Director of the Energy Transition Lab.

The Energy Transition Lab (ETL) is tackling the critically important work of “solving our most pressing challenges to enable our energy system’s transition to the future.” Based at the University of Minnesota, the organization leverages the expertise of the academic community and works in collaboration with the public, private, nonprofit, and community sectors. ETL recently joined the Network as a new member organization, and I had a chance to catch up with ETL’s Executive Director Ellen Anderson to learn about the organization’s current focus, to hear her thoughts on the most important opportunities for the climate and energy movement in Minnesota, and to find out what motivates her to do this work. Read the full interview below, and enjoy!

Jessica Conrad: What is Energy Transition Lab currently focused on?

Ellen Anderson: At Energy Transition Lab (ETL), we’re currently working on a variety of different issues, but our biggest focus in 2016 is on energy storage. ETL created the Minnesota Energy Storage Alliance , which is an informal stakeholder collaborative working to establish a voice for energy storage in Minnesota and across the region. We have more than 100 stakeholders on our list, and about 30, including RE-AMP members Great Plains Institute and Fresh Energy, are actively involved. We’re excited about the opportunity to make even better connections across the Midwest on this issue through our participation in the RE-AMP Network.

ETA is also doing some work with cities. Through a grant from the McKnight Foundation, for example, we’ve partnered with Ecolibrium3, another RE-AMP member, to analyze energy future scenarios for Duluth with combined heat and power, zero-net energy, and bioenergy. We’re also working on solar energy deployment at the University of Minnesota, as well as a project to broaden access to solar energy, and corporate energy transitions.

Jessica Conrad: How are you feeling about the potential of your participation in the RE-AMP Network to make a positive difference in your work at ETL?

Ellen Anderson: ETL is working on increasing Minnesota’s effectiveness at energy storage, and the new partnerships we create through our membership with the RE-AMP Network could help increase our influence and effectiveness on this issue across the region, beyond Minnesota. That’s very exciting to us.

We’re also excited to develop a better understanding of RE-AMP’s strategic vision so we can avoid duplicating efforts—or “bumping elbows”—and increase our coordination with other groups. It’s important for ETL to add value, especially as a startup.

Jessica Conrad: What do you see as Minnesota’s most promising opportunity to advance clean energy right now?  

Ellen Anderson: To me, state level policy directions are critically important, as are businesses and communities for visibly and proactively ramping up our efforts in support of the goals established by the Paris Agreement.  

Jessica Conrad: What motivates you to do this work?

Ellen Anderson: There’s no greater challenge and nothing more important than addressing climate change and our energy transition. It’s urgent and immediate. The older I get, the stronger I feel that sense of urgency. I also believe that there’s a strong need to demonstrate how to create a vibrant low-carbon economy in the vast heartland between the East Coast and the West Coast. States in the RE-AMP footprint have the potential to demonstrate leadership on energy and climate issues. This opportunity motivates me as well.