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Have you ever wondered why “fall cleaning” isn’t as popular as “spring cleaning?” With winter comes more time indoors and more indoor entertaining.

The energy savings potential of LED lighting systems and other energy efficiency opportunities in poultry barns were described in a “Field Day” on Oct. 11 in Willmar, MN that attracted poultry farmers, utility reps, and energy efficiency specialists from the Upper Midwest.

Nearly 40 people gathered at Deep Portage Learning Center outside of Hackensack Tuesday, August 6, 2013, for a clean energy tour sponsored by Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team (NW CERT) and Central Clean Energy Resource Team (Central CERT). Deep Portage is a non-profit residential environmental education and outdoor recreation center located in Cass County, Minnesota.

The story of Noah and the Ark, a man building a gigantic boat in preparation for a flood that no one else believed was coming, is familiar to most. Crosslake Presbyterian Church has recently taken a page out of Noah’s book and begun their own major undertaking that was initially dismissed by some.

Driving through rural Minnesota you are apt to see impressive displays of renewable energy: wind farms, solar arrays, and ethanol plants come to mind. Additional efforts to promote renewable energy and energy conservation have been popping up in rural Minnesota communities thanks to Youth Energy Summit (YES!) teams.

Four Seward neighborhood businesses installed solar energy on their roof tops. With a combination of rebates, these businesses did their research and it is paying off for them in a very big way. One company saved up to $164,000 by applying for a combination of state and federal rebates.

The Redwood Area Development Corporation (RADC) developed a new website with a renewable energy portal on the homepage.

Julie Rath with RADC is excited about the new site and content: “Having the portal right on the homepage will open up opportunities for citizens and businesses to find easier access to the tool they need for their own projects, energy rebates, funding sources, etc.

Northfield, Minnesota, (located halfway between Minneapolis and Rochester) takes pride in its historic and architecturally interesting buildings.

Saint Paul Energy Coordinator Jim Giebel knows the importance of saving energy for a city government. He oversees the energy usage of over 160 city facilities in Saint Paul, with 3.2 million square feet of space whose collective energy costs total around $8.5 million annually.

A new report by the Great Plains Institute shows that ENERGY STAR Certified buildings in Minnesota are on the rise, having grown from 3 buildings in 1999 to 561 buildings as of September 2013. The report highlights school districts and cities that are leading with the most certified buildings, as well as how Minnesota is progressing towards its state goal of 1,000 certified buildings.

Sanjay comes to Metro CERT as a participant in the Environment and Sustainability program of HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs). After he completes a semester with HECUA, Sanjay will finish his bachelor’s degree in Geography with focuses in sustainability and GIS at the University of Minnesota.

On September 10, 2013 about 50 people, mostly city staff, attended a workshop to learn more about how to create the environment in their communities to provide the pathway for developing local solar resources. The workshop was co-sponsored by the GreenStep Cities partnership and Met Council; organized by the National Association of Regional Councils.

This past year at the CERTs 2013 Conference, a new interactive session was tried. Regional groups met and brainstormed potential community energy efficiency projects that could be implemented specifically in their region. One such idea involved installing LED lights on the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) campus.

Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center has been working to improve lighting efficiency over the course of the past few years. Overall, 409 light fixtures were affected by the retrofit. We are 100% pleased with the lighting project,” said Stu Omberg, DLCCC’s chief executive officer.

Everyone would like to save money on utility bills, and most people want to conserve our natural resources, right? Well, in Southwest Minnesota, what initially started as an effort to raise awareness among tenants, management, and community members about the importance of the responsible use of natural resources such as energy and water turned out to make connections among generations.

Comprehensive energy program at Discovery Middle School achieves big energy savings and healthier indoor air quality. Alexandria’s Discovery Middle School has trimmed its energy use by nearly 50 percent, thanks to a host of energy improvements.

For students like Kimberly Colgan, participating in the Youth Energy Summit (YES!) program is a life-changing experience. “YES! has definitely impacted my college and career plans.

Nearly 300 people gathered in Rockford, Minnesota on September 9th for a celebration, ribbon cutting, and tour of the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association’s “Solar Community,” the first community solar project completed in Minnesota.

CERTs staff members Lissa Pawlisch, Diana McKeown, and Trevor Drake attended to help celebrate this milestone for Minnesota.

Several years ago the City of Royalton embarked on a mission to increase energy efficiency through clean energy initiatives that save money. Royalton is now cheering its solar energy project as a success on many levels. “We were excited to see the benefit to the environment and to the bottom line for our city,” said Royalton Mayor Andrea Lauer.

Stacey Pederson is the new Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) Communications Assistant with the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnership and Extension.

She decided to become more involved with CERTs after attending the 2013 CERTs Conference.

Several YES! teams worked to change behavioral and social norms in their schools this past school year. That was the easy part. Next came the hard part, convincing their fellow students to adopt necessary behavior changes to implement changes, starting with lunch trays.

One Youth Energy Summit (YES!) event featured a video that depicted passengers on an elevator.

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Youth Energy Summit (YES!) students are cultivating knowledge and eating it, too! Many YES! teams have found that they are passionate about local foods and school gardens. This past school year 4 YES! teams built greenhouses at their schools and 13 YES! teams worked on projects related to school gardens and composting.

As I staffed the Energy House at the Minnesota State Fair’s Eco-Experience, I got a bit more familiar with the Nest Thermostat, which is a smart thermostat developed mostly by former Apple employees.

Menards, one of the largest home improvement chains in the world, will begin selling SolarPod solar photovoltaic (PV) systems this month. SolarPod is manufactured by Mouli Engineering. Inc., a company based in Eagan, Minnesota.

“Menards has worked extensively in evaluating Mouli Engineering’s SolarPod products.