Farms have unique opportunities for saving energy and taking advantage of renewable energy resources like solar, wind, and biomass. CERTs is here to help you understand your options, find out what's working for others, and move forward with projects that make sense for your farm.
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Technical assistance and advice
Unbiased and free
The Clean Energy Resource Teams work across the state of Minnesota to provide farmers like you with the best unbiased resources, tools, guidance, connections, funding and financing opportunities, events, and stories to get your projects done. Best of all, we're not trying to sell you anything: our services are free.
If your farm is interested in renewable energy and energy efficiency, we can help you understand your options and move forward! Our Renewable Energy for Greater Minnesota program, funded by USDA, offers:
- Project examples
- Funding & financing guidance
- Direct technical assistance
Wonder where to start?
Get an energy assessment
On-farm energy assessments are tailored to each agricultural operation’s primary energy uses. The assessments help producers determine the amount of energy used by the entire operation and also identify the short- and long-term measures producers can implement to conserve energy and achieve greater production efficiencies. Often your electric utility will offer some form of energy assessment—contact them to learn more.
Dairy Efficiency
- Plate coolers and boiler upgrades
- Efficient lighting
- Variable speed drives
- Efficient ventilation
Livestock Efficiency
- Insulation and building envelope improvements
- Ventilation controls
- Radiant heating systems
- LED lighting technology
Grain Efficiency
- Low-speed centrifugal fans
- In-bin drying systems
- Timing and controlling motor use
Greenhouse Efficiency
- Insulation and air sealing
- Energy-saving LED grow lights
- Efficient heating equipment
Get started
If you’re already saving energy on your farm, it might be time to think about renewable energy. Solar is the easiest and lowest maintenance solution, but biomass and small wind could be worth considering, too. You can also lease your land for larger solar and wind developments to bring in extra income on the farm.
Get started
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