Testimonials
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Project Independence was a quest to put a 10kw solar photovoltaic system on Chisago Lakes Middle school. These 44 panels were to be fully funded by students and staff with no cost to the school. We began the process in 2008 when the world economy fell apart so our project began against great odds. Trying to raise $73,000 at a time like that was going to be difficult. We knew, however, that this project was so worth doing and would teach kids so many lessons about life, persistence and the importance of working through difficulties to make sacrifices to make the world a better place.
Our project had many ups and downs. It seemed like at our darkest moment, when it looked as if all our hard work might just not be enough, CERTs came to the rescue with a $5,000 SEED grant. I think the name SEED is appropriate for the name of the grant but for us it was a HOPE grant. The grant and the encouragement we received from CERTs came just at the most critical juncture and renewed us to continue the fight for something we believed in. The funding gave us leverage to seek out other groups that could help us since obviously others had less faith in what we were trying to accomplish. We had been told by funding sources who didn’t believe we had a chance to pull this off, to “come back when you get closer to your financial goals”. The CERTs funding allowed us to say “we’re back…” and to help us make Project Independence a reality.
CERTs is a wonderful organization of like minded people with the expertise to help you make dreams realities. The students at CLMS will walk underneath our gleaming panels for many years as they enter and leave our building. Hopefully these students will leave our building changed and will be part of the generation that makes solar energy mainstream and oil and gas the alternative energy sources.
We could tell you why you should work with CERTs, but we’d rather let others do the talking. Here’s what Bob McLean and Quinn Swanson with the Hunt Utilities Group in Pine River and Joe Steffel, the Utilities Director with the City of Buffalo, have to say.
There's no better group tying together the grassroots and policy wonks on energy work in Minnesota, across political and geographic boundaries.
The Northwest Minnesota Foundation has found CERTs to be a very valuable effort in promoting energy conservation and renewable energy concepts and in bringing together people who share those values. We appreciate our strong, statewide partnership with all of the CERTs staff.
I believe CERTs is playing an important economic role as our economy shifts into one that is more sustainable.
University of Minnesota Morris understands how important CERTs is in moving our economy to local green jobs.
We have received a CERTs grant, and it was critical in assisting our company to develop a business model for converting waste paper into cellulosic ethanol at the Prairieland Solid Waste facility in Truman. Through this business model we have been able to research various methods for getting a project like this financed, potentially saving the county millions of dollars in disposal fees, creating renewable energy from a waste product, and solving a local problem.
CERTs has been a great partner in helping the HRDC explore how renewable energy can create greater economic and community prosperity in northern Minnesota.
I have been involved with CERTs since its inception and have watched it grow to a mature organization dedicated to coordinating grassroots ideas and efforts to wean this state and country from our fossil fuel addiction. There is no other group of professionals that has done a better job of involving the public in this quest. You are to be commended for your accomplishments and dedication to this cause.
Clean Energy Resource Teams
The people (both young and not so young) now involved in CERTs and programs like it are the type that dig in and make changes, and that’s where the real value is. The billions of BTUs and millions of dollars CERTs is currently saving the state will easily translate to trillions 10 years from now. Any change in our habits as a society needs to come from the bottom up, and CERTs is a great way to maximize impact of dollars spent to reduce energy use.