See what’s grown from past CERTs Seed Grants. Then get ready to plant your own clean energy seeds! Applications for the next round of CERTs Seed Grants are due October 1, 2025.
Summer is ending, the first leaves are turning, and the growing season is almost over – at least for a lot of our Minnesota flora. In the clean energy space, however, it’s time to plant seeds.
Seeds are funny things: small but mighty, bits of almost-life filled with possibility just waiting for their chance to send out those hopeful, exploratory little tendrils of root and stem. You don’t really know what’s going to happen when you plant a seed – the perfect conditions might lead it to flourish, or maybe it will need your tender loving care before it grows strong, or maybe the cat in your family will come along and pluck every single seedling, just for fun (busted, Miss Emmy!), and then you have to start over with more seeds. But the thing is, if you want the plants, you have to plant the seeds.
Since 2006, CERTs has awarded $1.98 million in seed grants for community-based clean energy projects across the state. Minnesota’s communities are skilled at accomplishing a lot with a small grant, so these projects can have an outsized impact. Partnerships, staff and volunteer time, and CERTs’ technical support are often part of implementation, nurturing the growth of these initiatives.
As you think about what kind of seeds you want to plant – remember, CERTs Seed Grant applications are due October 1 – you can enjoy some stories of impactful past projects by Minnesota communities.
CERTs has awarded several seed grants to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, including for a solar master plan, a Tribal sustainability plan, and an electric vehicle transition project. These projects were foundational for efforts LLBO has undertaken since then, most notably by facilitating expansion of solar for the reservation. LLBO has been recognized nationally for its ground-breaking clean energy efforts.
