MN Sustainability

Energy resilience enables Army readiness, reduces operational pauses, and is critical to all military functions and operations. Energy resilience is the ability for an Army installation to avoid, prepare for, minimize, adapt to, and recover from energy disruptions. Sustainable and renewable energy systems allow the MNNG to anticipate, respond to, and recover from service disruptions to reduce infrastructure vulnerabilities and successfully execute missions.

The MNNG is committed to ensuring the construction and design of new buildings consider Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver criteria and the B3 Sustainable Building 2030 (SB2030) Energy Standard. Initiatives will target monitoring performance, encouraging energy conservation behaviors, and identifying renewable/sustainable energy sources like solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, and geothermal. The MNNG partnered with Minnesota Power to install a 10-megawatt solar array at CRTC, the largest on any National Guard installation.

Current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include increasing onsite renewable/alternative energy generation, reducing fleet fossil fuel use, transitioning to more efficient fleet vehicles, and building and maintaining resilient facilities. MNNG and DMA are part of the Army Compatible Use Buffer and Sentinel Landscape programs, which are used to reduce the DMA’s impact on the environment while promoting compatible land use to mitigate degradation of training ability, habitat loss, and encroachment.

Sustainability is a critical enabler in the performance of the Army's mission, and its importance and benefits cut across the entire MNNG. By implementing these practices, MNNG is decreasing future mission constraints, increasing operational flexibility and resilience, safeguarding human health and the environment, and improving the quality of life for soldiers and local communities. The DMA works with staff and units to instill sustainable practices within all operations, empowering all components of the organization to enhance environmental activities.

Initiating Sustainable Goals

Current Performance Data