Community Solar Gardens

February 28, 2025

Summary

In May 2013, Minnesota enacted HF 729, which created the framework for Community Solar Gardens. The law set no cumulative capacity limits, but each Community Solar facility would be limited to 1 MW capacity.

Customers of Xcel Energy subscribe to community solar garden projects offered by private developers. Customers of other utilities may subscribe to community solar gardens that are offered by their utility.

H.F. 2310 of 2023 made major reforms to community solar rules. Community solar projects may now be up to 5 MW of capacity. 30% of each project's subscribers must be low or moderate-income. 25% of capacity must be reserved for schools, affordable housing providers, government agencies, or other public interest organizations. Each project must have at least 25 subscribers. The bill also changed the credit system for community solar subscribers from the value of solar (VOS) rate to a new system based on applied retail rates (ARR).

Xcel Energy is also now required to offer consolidated billing for community solar subscribers.

Program Overview

Implementing Sector:	State
Category:	Regulatory Policy
State:	Minnesota
Incentive Type:	Community Solar Rules
Web Site:	https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumer/energy-programs/community-solar-gardens.jsp
Administrator:
Start Date:
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:	Solar Photovoltaics
Applicable Utilities:	Investor-owned utilities
System Capacity Limit:	1 MW
Program Capacity Limit:	None
Participant Credit Rate:	For Legacy Subscribers: VOS rate with $0.03/kWh adder for residential and small general service and $0.01/kWh adder for general service customers for 2025. For Non-Legacy Subscribers: Applied Retail Rate (ARR) of 100% of retail rate for low-income, 85% for residential, 70% for commercial, and 75-100% for public interest subscribers.
Low-Moderate Income Provisions:	(Xcel Energy only) 30% carve-out for low and moderate-income subscribers.

Authorities

Name:

MN 216B.1641

Name:	H.F. 2310
Date Enacted:	05/24/2023

This information is sourced from DSIRE; the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. Established in 1995, DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University.