January 9, 2020
It is an energizing start to 2020 for City of Northfield who received a $3,000 Seed Grant from the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) today.
“We’re very excited to learn about the grant award,” said Beth Kallestad, City of Northfield program coordinator. “We can’t wait to get started on our project, Solar for Northfield.”
The City of Northfield’s Climate Action Plan seeks to be 100{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} carbon free by 2040. Developing the city’s solar potential is a critical step in achieving this ambitious goal. With this project, Northfield plans to create a citywide solar photovoltaic (PV) potentials study detailing both
economic and environmental benefits. They further hope to identify the current energy usages of government buildings compared to regional/national peer groups, conduct outreach on renewable energy for affordable multi-family housing, and ultimately create a Solar PV Master Plan for City-owned facilities. CERTs Seed Grant funding will go towards engaging consulting services that will facilitate the process of research and development.
The award is one of 35 grants given to innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in communities across Minnesota. These awards mark the tenth round of Seed Grants from CERTs, totalling over $1.3 million to 393 projects since 2006. A complete list of funded projects can be accessed at cleanenergyresourceteams.org/2020grants.
“CERTs provides these Seed Grants with two primary objectives in mind,” said Lissa Pawlisch, CERTs Director. “First, to encourage implementation of community-based clean energy projects across the state. Second, to provide an educational forum for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and their economic, community, and ecological benefits.”
