Morris, Minnesota, is a small city, but a community-wide partnership that includes the University of Minnesota is nationally recognized for supporting local energy improvement projects in rural areas.

Developed ten years ago, the Morris Model is a partnership including the University of Minnesota’s Morris campus and West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC), the city of Morris, Morris Area Public Schools, Stevens County and more. 

All partner organizations are dedicated to working together towards advancing a sustainable community in Morris and West-Central Minnesota. More specifically, they’re committed to locally producing 80% of Stevens County’s energy needs and reducing county energy consumption by 30% by 2030, along with eliminating landfilling of waste generated within the county.

Shining in the national spotlight

The Morris Model was one of the winners of both phase I and II of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Energizing Rural Communities Prize, totalling $300,000, highlighting its work around increasing clean energy use in a rural community.

For example, the University of Minnesota Morris has greatly expanded on-campus solar energy installations that produce 500kW, which can power about 80 homes per year. More than 90% of that power is thanks to the installation of solar panels in the WCROC pasture — believed to be the largest dairy-serving agrivoltaic (i.e., the practice of putting solar panels on agricultural land) array in the Midwest.

Regarding the Elevate Extraordinary strategic roadmap, Troy Goodnough, sustainability director on the Morris campus, says, “University of Minnesota Morris is truly leading creation of sustainable knowledge and solutions as a liberal arts college that features interdisciplinary partnerships, which we believe helps improve One Health outcomes because they are all interrelated.”

WCROC, also located in the largely agrarian Stevens County, was recognized for its work on sustainable agriculture.

Eric Buchanan, renewable energy director at WCROC and a member of the Morris Model team, explains, “We’re focused on reducing fossil fuel use in agriculture such as in growing corn or wheat or raising livestock. We research a wide variety of renewable and energy efficient systems including electric tractors, robots for field work and producing green ammonia from wind and solar energy, which then provides nitrogen fertilizer for farm fields.”

This work is important because a majority of the energy used in Stevens County comes from agriculture.

“It’s not easy to replace big energy loads like tractors or drying grain, so finding ways to do that matters because about 25% of Minnesota’s carbon footprint is due to or sourced from agricultural activity in the state,” says Buchanan.

Through the Morris Model, the University hopes to inspire larger communities to adopt more clean energy practices.

“The spirit of this work is not asking others to do something you wouldn’t do yourself,” says Goodnough. “At the U of M, we’re trying to be that incubator for innovation in resilient energy systems.”

Learn more about the Morris Model.