Renewable energy pioneer's ultra-efficient Minneapolis duplex snapped up quickly

John Dunlop, a mechanical engineer who designed waste-heat-powered boilers and generators in the 1970s, spent the next 40-plus years as a pioneer of what has become Minnesota's considerable renewable-energy industry.

As a Midwest leader for the American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, he nurtured and pushed clean energy industries that have grown to employ more than 60,000 Minnesotans over the last generation.

Even his lifestyle promoted clean energy, from retrofitting his Bryn Mawr duplex into an ultra-efficient home to his plug-in electric vehicle that's becoming less and less a novelty as U.S. EV sales take off.

"We have strived to eliminate carbon emissions from our life the entire time we've been here and largely succeeded," said Dunlop, a trim, youthful 77.

Last week, John and Susan Dunlop, who raised three children in their 5,500-square-foot Minneapolis duplex with seven bedrooms, sold after nine days on the market for $1,000 more than the $649,000 listing price.

The buyer is a young professional who embraces a green lifestyle.

Dunlop's real estate agent Cotty Lowry, said the updated, well-maintained property, across the street from a park and with a view of the downtown skyline, drew nine showings.

"We got a lot more interest in John's duplex ... than my other duplex listings," said Lowry, who specializes in multi-family properties. "The energy improvements, the location, the view and overall great condition."

The Dunlops bought the once drafty duplex in 1978 for $79,000.

Dunlop estimates they invested about $200,000, starting with a 1980s remodel that included an expanded upstairs, efficient windows and extra insulation along the roof and walls.

"I didn't do a nuts-and-bolts cost analysis of the payback on everything," Dunlop recalled. "But I got value. We paid $79,000 and sold for $650,000."

That will cover the rent for a long time in the St. Paul senior-living complex where the Dunlops have moved. Now they just need the complex to install an electric-vehicle charger for the couple's plug-in Nissan Leaf.

You might call the Dunlop duplex a no-carbon, energy-generating household. They did pay Xcel Energy up to $90 in the coldest months of winter through the utility's "Windsource" program.

"We rise in the morning, comfortable under our R-74 roof, and hit the shower with water heated by the solar thermal water heater on our roof, backed up by the all-electric heat pump water heater in our basement," Dunlop wrote in a summary of daily life.

Breakfast is made, through no-carbon, renewable energy from solar cells or Windsource. Then it's off for a day of activities in his fully electric car.

In the summer, air-conditioning is powered by renewable energy while dinner is made using appliances powered by solar electricity.

"Depending on the season, we may use our 100% clean energy, battery-powered electric lawn mower to mow the lawn or the similarly powered electric hand blower or two-stage snow blower to clear the fresh snow," Dunlop said. "Our corded electric string trimmer or hedge trimmer may help to finish the mowing job," he wrote.

The couple's home was moments from Interstate 394 and a bus stop — and a few minutes from hiking and biking trails that connect to parkways and the Minneapolis chain of lakes.

"I think the buyer got a pretty good deal," Dunlop quipped.

Dunlop, who started out when wind turbines were rarities and solar energy was mostly a south-facing window, is satisfied with both a psychic and financial return from his home.

A soft-spoken, contemplative man who loves to tinker with ideas and equipment, Dunlop also has helped the rest of us take advantage of the growing trend of conservation and clean energy that mitigates the health and pollution costs of fossil fuels.

Xcel Energy, Minnesota's largest electricity provider, has pledged to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Renewables now account for more than 50% of the mix.

Thanks to people like Dunlop, it's now getting easier to lead a greener lifestyle

"My life has been driven by global warming and renewable energy," Dunlop said.

For that, I'm grateful.