After only a year and a half of its inception, the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is making a significant impact on the community and has now been granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the IRS. This expands funding opportunities for the organization, and gifts to CCLEP are now tax-deductible.
It didn’t take long for local business owners George Wilkes and Buck Benson to get the community behind them. Their interest in generating local sources of energy and increasing energy efficiency in Cook County resonated with people for a variety of reasons: CCLEP’s efforts could help reduce Cook County’s reliance on foreign oil, improve the health of the environment, and bring dollars to the community in the form of energy savings and new industry.
CCLEP’s mission — to facilitate energy efficiency and promote local, renewable energy development in Cook County — meets local interests perfectly. Five working groups that have been in full swing for over a year each focus on a different area: solar power, wind power, transportation, energy efficiency, and biomass.
CCLEP has also worked to partner with other community groups and institutions, such as the Firewise program, the U.S. Forest Service, and the City of Grand Marais.
CCLEP recently received a $10,000 grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, Duluth, to help fund three projects: a new ride sharing and delivery sharing web site; an energy curriculum for local elementary schools; and home energy audit house parties to provide energy efficiency resources and tools to local residents. These projects will begin this winter and extend into 2010.
TheCity of Grand Marais is waiting to find out if its application for federal stimulus funding will result in a grant for the construction of a biomass-powered heat and energy plant. CCLEP’s knowledge and connections with outside resources paved the way for this opportunity.
More on the work of CCLEP and its variety of projects can be found online at www.cookcountylep.org. The site also has general information and links to other renewable energy and energy efficiency resources.
For more information, please contact George Wilkes at (218)387- 2137 or Buck Benson at (218)387- 2419. Tax-deductible gifts can be made to CCLEP, P.O. Box 608, Grand Marais MN, 55604.
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