The Top U.S. Community Solar Program

Why Minnesota’s Community Solar Program is the Best

John Farrell, 17 January 2019 (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)

Minnesota’s community solar program hit a record 505 megawatts of operational capacity in January 2019…In recent news, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved an adder to compensation rates for residential subscribers in October, boosting subscriptions by 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for projects started in 2019 or 2020…[and it appears] the project queue (including new applications, projects in study, projects in design/construction, and energized projects) rebounded to over 900 megawatts by December 1st, after falling…to about 800 megawatts earlier this year. The adder will come on top of the revised compensation scheme for new projects in 2018––based on the value of solar…

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…[Xcel Energy data shows] more than 10,000 residential customers (92% of all subscribers) are saving money with a shared solar subscription…Although the vast majority of the program’s capacity serves commercial customers (87%), nearly one-third of the total program capacity in March 2018 (about 100 megawatts) actually serves public entities like schools. In other words, community solar helps broaden those who benefit from solar by enabling individuals and public institutions to save money with solar…” click here for more

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