We had a great time this last weekend at the NEW Energy Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota!
I’ve been going to the MREA (Midwest Renewable Energy Association) Fair in Custer, Wisconsin for about 10 years now. It’s always a great event, and something to look forward to.
This year, the MREA hosted the new fair at Harriet Island Park, just off the river in St. Paul. It was a beautiful venue, and has plenty of room for expansion. The weather was great – sunny and cool. Perfect weather for the solar panels that were powering all the electricity on the site! There were plenty of exhibitors including solar installers, composting toilets, tiny houses, a tool lending library, electric motorcycle kits, non-profits, and more. There were only a few food vendors, but I loved the solar-powered coffee-mobile!
At the other end of the park, we were hosting a Clean Car Show, which included some test drives. Cars there ranged from Teslas, BMW i3, Chevy Volt and Bolt, Electric Cooper Mini, and more! On Sunday, I even saw an electric scooter and had a great conversation with a fellow Mitsubishi iMiEV owner. For carpooling, an electric bus was available to bring people from the union depot down to the park.
Sunday is also when I gave my DIY SOLAR GARAGE presentation. I had a great crowd in the tent and tried to get out as much DIY solar information as I can. If you missed the presentation, or were there but want to know more, I made a slide-show-based video covering the topic. You can watch that RIGHT HERE, or on my YouTube page.
The new St. Paul Fair was a fantastic first time event. I look forward to going back next year!
-Ben
