Reflections on clean energy in Minnesota

For many of us, the turn of the year is a time to reflect on what we do and why we do it. 

We, the Clean Energy Resource Teams, are no exception. What we do at CERTs is support community-based clean energy. To a lot of people, that means solar panels on the roof and wind turbines in southwestern Minnesota. And, of course, those are important pieces of the puzzle. But clean energy is so much more than that!

It’s the energy we don’t have to use when our buildings are well-insulated.

It’s learning to design efficient new housing, and it’s also improving old housing. It’s how we make more comfortable places to call home.

Clean energy is better transportation. 

It’s the healthier air that our kids breathe when they ride in electric school buses. It’s being able to spend less on fuel to get to work or the grocery store, because we’ve gone electric.

Clean energy is also economic development. 

It’s support for small businesses—from heating and cooling to efficient manufacturing processes that improve bottom lines. It’s the reliable local crop that helps support farming communities, along with production taxes for counties and townships to maintain roads and expand broadband.

Clean energy is the multitude of innovations that add up to make our energy system resilient, reliable, and affordable:

green hydrogen at a wastewater treatment plant and connecting renewables with a water heater program to reduce costs for members of a rural electric co-op.