Seed grants available for community energy efficiency, renewable energy projects

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The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) seek to provide limited financial assistance for energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects requiring technical assistance.

Project funding can support technical assistance services (labor costs only, such as for a consultant, design professional, installer or student labor) for projects across the state in all seven Minnesota CERT regions: Central, Metro, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and West Central.

In past funding cycles in the West Central Region, which includes Douglas County, CERTs has helped fund energy efficiency projects in Milan and New London, solar thermal projects in Morris, Spicer, and St. Peter, and Youth Energy Summit (YES) high school teams across the region.

“CERTs offers seed grants with two primary objectives in mind: to encourage implementation of community-based clean energy projects across the state, and to provide an educational forum for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and their economic, community and ecological benefits,” said Lissa Pawlisch, CERTs statewide coordinator.

Each region has a $40,000 pool of funding. Generally, teams have funded projects in the $5,000 range, however should a larger project best help a team achieve its goals, that team may consider funding at a level up to $10,000. Each regional team’s steering committee will make its own selections and the funding level will vary by region. Projects approved for funding must be completed by December 30, 2010.

Funding for these projects is provided through the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Office of Energy Security. Proposals must be submitted no later than November 2, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.

To learn more, visit www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/community-projects/request-for-proposals.

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