Made in Minnesota Solar PV Incentive Program

Summary

Note: This program was repealed by Senate Bill 1456.

Since January 2014, The Department of Commerce (DOC) has administered the Made in Minnesota Solar Energy Production Incentive pursuant to H.F. 729, which was enacted in May 2013. Systems must be less than 40 kW-DC and be certified as "Made in Minnesota" (see below for details). Residential, commercial, non-profit, and multi-family property owners are eligible for the incentive. The incentive rate is set by the Commissioner of Commerce and is recalculated annually for new contracts. Each incentive contract will be a 10-year term; payments will be made to the customer no later than July 1st following the year of production and RECs are transferred to the utility during the 10-year period (after which they belong to the system owner). The utility must provide a meter to measure the system production at the cost of the customer.

Incentive Amounts

The six criteria listed in the Made in Minnesota Solar Energy Production Incentive law (Minnesota Statute § 216C.414, subd. 2 (2013)) are used to determine the incentive amounts.

The Department of Commerce established the following incentive amounts for the 2016 calendar year:

Commercial For Profit below 40 kW-DC Solar Incentive

• Silicon Energy Voyageur Modules SiE-V-280 and SiE-V-285 = $0.23/kWh
• tenKsolar Modules XT-A 410 =  $0.13/kWh
• Heliene 260P-SW-40-MiM, 280M-SW-40-MiM, 280M-BB-40-MiM, 310P-SW-40-*MiM = $0.13/kWh
• itek Energy Modules IT-270-HE, IT-275-HE, IT-280-HE, IT-285-HE = $0.18/kWh

Nonprofit/Public below 40 kW-DC Solar Incentive

• Silicon Energy Voyageur Modules SiE-V-280 and SiE-V-285 = $0.25/kWh
• tenKsolar Modules XT-A 410 = $0.15/kWh
• Heliene 260P-SW-40-MiM, 280M-SW-40-MiM, 280M-BB-40-MiM, 310P-SW-40-*MiM = $0.15/kWh
• itek Energy Modules IT-270-HE, IT-275-HE, IT-280-HE, IT-285-HE = $0.20/kWh

Residential up to 10 kW-DC Solar Incentive

• Silicon Energy Voyageur Modules SiE-V-280 and SiE-V-285 = $0.30/kWh
• tenKsolar Modules XT-A 410 = $0.23/kWh
• Heliene 260P-SW-40-MiM, 280M-SW-40-MiM, 280M-BB-40-MiM, 310P-SW-40-*MiM = $0.23/kWh
• itek Energy Modules IT-270-HE, IT-275-HE, IT-280-HE, IT-285-HE = $0.27/kWh

Applying for the Incentive

Interested customers must apply between January 1st and February 28th of each year from 2014 through 2023. At the end of the application period, applications will be selected by lottery. No systems will begin to receive payments after December 31, 2024, and no payments will be made for generation that occurs after December 31, 2033.

If the applicant pool allows, approximately half of the funds will be allocated for residential customers and approximately half will go to commercial and non-profit customers. For the purposes of this allocation, multi-family residential facilities are considered residential facilities unless the PV system exceeds 10 kW in capacity, or the output from the PV system is purchased by several residents (shared ownership).

Manufacturer Participation

Manufacturers interested in participating in the incentive program must apply to the DOC to be certified as "Made in Minnesota." In order to be eligible, the PV module must be manufactured at a facility located in Minnesota that is registered and authorized to manufacture in the state. Systems must be UL 1703-certified by a UL or UL-approved agency, and systems must be manufactured by a process that includes tabbing, stringing, and lamination, or must be manufactured by interconnecting low-voltage DC PV elements that produce the final useful PV output of the modules. Modules manufactured by attaching microinveters, DC optimizers, or other power electronics to a laminate or solar PV module that has received UL 1703 certification outside of Minnesota are not eligible.