Elk Horn residents heard a presentation this week from the representative of a Danish renewable energy strategy company, talking about its commitment to projects that revitalize rural communities. The speaker was Anders Muller, with Baltic Sea Solutions.

The meeting was sponsored by Iron Eagle Technologies, the Elk Horn company that held a “cut the gas hose” ceremony last week on four new electric vehicle charging stations. Trevor Schroeter, with Iron Eagle, says the hope is to make Elk Horn an example for the rest of the nation when it comes to renewable and sustainable energy.

He says people were very excited and interested in the project and will commit to helping it get off the ground. Schroeter says Iron Eagle will be pursuing a partnership with Baltic Sea Solutions on behalf of the community. He says they will work with the company to help build an organizational capacity for renewable energy. He says Baltic Sea Solutions was looking for a rural community to act as a model for the rest of the country and Elk Horn seemed to be a natural fit, given its Danish heritage.

The next step is for Iron Eagle to look at some proposed projects and pare those down to just those that would benefit the community and elicit its involvement. He says once a project plan is in place, they can begin to pursue avenues of funding in the areas of industry and government to make any projects successful. As for the electric vehicle charging stations, Trevor says many people have stopped by to look at the devices and Iron Eagles’ small fleet of electric vehicles. Among the visitors were members of the national media, including a reporter from ABC News.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic