Credit: University of Minnesota Morris
The Morris Model, a partnership to support rural sustainability efforts in Morris, MN, was one of 33 winners in the 2nd phase of the Energizing Rural Communities Prize. The team won an initial prize in 2023 and has received a total of $300,000 in funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the past two years. The funding comes from DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and is part of its $1 billion Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program designed to improve the resilience, reliability, safety, availability, and environmental performance of rural energy systems. Morris Model partners include the city of Morris, UMN Morris, Morris Area School District, and the UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) who are implementing innovative and replicable solar, wind, and energy storage technologies.