St. Paul, Minn. – Aug. 28, 2025 – State environmental experts discussed pathways to accelerate clean energy development at a panel during the nation’s largest State Fair on Thursday, Aug. 28.
CleanCounts, North America’s most expansive clean energy registry, hosted the panel to bring greater attention to new energies and their compatibility with food, conservation and commerce – quintessential elements of the Minnesota State Fair, recognized as the nation’s largest. The educational effort at the Great Minnesota Get-Together also drew attention to a recent milestone in the state’s Habitat-Friendly Solar program: one billion native and pollinator-friendly plants established with private-sector resources — more than three plants per square foot across 7,000 acres.
Established in 2016, the Habitat-Friendly Solar Program supports the establishment of habitat for pollinators, songbirds and other species in addition to project co-benefits such as water management, grazing and soil health. By using CleanCounts, solar facility owners can sell habitat-friendly solar renewable energy credits (RECs) as differentiated, value-added products.
“As true Midwesterners, we innately understand getting the most bang for our buck. Habitat-friendly solar is a classic example of that concept. We’re not just getting renewable, carbon-free energy, we’re also restoring habitats and creating additional habitat in in communities across Minnesota,” said Rob Schultz, vice president and executive director of the Audubon Upper Mississippi River.
Pairing solar developments with other environmental benefits like grazing and pollinator-friendly ground cover is just one example of how Minnesota is pioneering holistic solutions to accelerate adoption of clean energy. At We Are Nuts – a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of roasted nuts and official fair vendor – fairgoers can get a special blend of peanuts roasted with Solar Grown honey, which is harvested from flowering solar farms.
“At CleanCounts, we track numerous forms of clean energy and bring our staff to visit projects each year. Touring a pollinator-friendly solar project with our team was an extraordinary experience. These landscapes are their own ‘great get-together,’ generating power for nearby homes and businesses, and providing foraging habitat for songbirds and the beneficial insects that pollinate nearby crops,” said Ben Gerber, president and CEO of CleanCounts.
Representing a cross-sector of agriculture, conservation, and clean energy leaders, the speakers were an ideal fit for educating fairgoers and answering their questions.
“Farmers are at the heart of the fair and we’re thrilled to showcase these farmer-led approaches to the clean energy transition and innovation in agriculture to address complex challenges across our energy and food systems,” said Stacie Peterson, executive director of the American Solar Grazing Association, which unites livestock farmers and solar companies to promote agrivoltaics.
“Minnesota is showing the country what the future of clean energy can look like – one that not only delivers carbon-free electricity, but also restores ecosystems, supports farmers and creates jobs. Habitat-friendly solar is exactly the kind of win-win solution we need more of,” said Patty O’Keefe, Midwest Regional Director at Vote Solar.
Leaders hoped the panel and educational displays about habitat-friendly solar in the Agriculture Horticulture Building during the fair would inspire attendees to learn more and incentivize farmers through greater consumer support.
“We have everything we need in Minnesota to lead on new energies and establish viable markets for energy producers that demonstrate additional environmental and social benefits,” Gerber said.
About Habitat Friendly Solar
In 2016, a coalition of energy, agriculture, and conservation organizations worked together to pass the Pollinator-Friendly Solar Act, the nation’s first ground cover standard for solar facilities. Using seed mixtures which cost less than 0.1% of the overall project budget, the flexible and science-based standard established minimum requirements for solar site owners to implement in order to claim that solar projects “provide habitat beneficial to pollinators, songbirds, or game birds.”
Legislative leaders and a broad coalition of leading organizations have proposed a voluntary and dedicated funding mechanism — the nation’s first license plate featuring a solar facility. The license plate artwork, executed beautifully by REPLACE design studio, was commissioned by Natural Resources Services with contributions from Connexus Energy and employees of U.S. Solar and Bare Honey.
A longitudinal field study led by Argonne National Lab across 5 years (2018–2022) revealed how insect communities responded to newly established habitat on solar energy facilities in agricultural landscapes. Importantly, the solar projects in Argonne’s study all meet Minnesota’s Habitat Friendly Solar ground cover standard. The projects were approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission based on their overall cost-effectiveness.
From the Argonne report: “Our observations highlight the relatively rapid (<4 year) insect community responses to grassland restoration activities and provide support for solar-pollinator habitat as a feasible conservation practice to safeguard biodiversity and increase food security in agricultural landscapes.” The report also revealed a 20x increase in native bee (e.g. bumblebee) abundance.
About CleanCounts
CleanCounts, formerly known as M‑RETS, is North America’s most expansive clean energy registry and a trusted gateway to environmental markets. As a nonprofit organization, CleanCounts empowers participants across the energy ecosystem to track, trade and validate clean energy production and consumption with confidence and transparency. CleanCounts’ team of more than 40 software engineers and business analysts have a combined 510 years of software experience and 117 years of experience on the CleanCounts clean energy registry.
Media contact: Cali Torell, [email protected], 920-285-6234
