Minnesota

Solar Legislator Score: *****
Some unhappy campers have said that Minnesota has only two seasons: winter and the 4th of July. However, that’s not quite true. The state has four distinct seasons, even though it isn’t uncommon to see snowfall during three of them. Nevertheless, sunny skies are not in short supply. In fact, Minnesota has a solar resource equivalent to that of Houston or Miami.

STATE LEGISLATION
At the end of 2006, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a renewable energy bill which was signed into law by Governor Tim Pawlenty. State Bill 4 requires all utility providers to generate at least 25% of their total energy from wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources by the year 2025. The state’s largest utility provider, Xcel Energy is held to an even higher standard, and must produce at least 30% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2025, of which 25% must be wind power. From the Governor’s website:
“Minnesota has led the nation in developing and implementing innovative energy policies. In February 2007, Governor Pawlenty signed into law a “25 by ‘25” renewable energy standard. In May 2007, the Governor signed legislation that shifts the focus of the state’s Conservation Improvement Program from a spending requirement to an energy savings goal and sets aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The state was also the first in the nation to require ethanol in its gasoline.”
On November 14, 2007, Governor Pawlenty joined the leadership of nine other Midwestern states in signing a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. While not specifically addressing solar power issues, the accord is another step by Minnesota in demonstrating its focus on clean energy.

STATE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, UTILITY REBATES, UTILITY LOANS, and UTILITY INCENTIVES
Minnesota residents can avail themselves of a number of incentives to implement solar energy projects. First, a Solar Choice Program is offered by several local utility companies as noted below, applying to photovoltaic systems in virtually all sectors and providing incentive payments based on kWh of electrical power produced.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce administers a Solar-Electric (PV) Rebate Program funded by Xcel Energy, which absorbs some of the up-front costs of solar-electric (PV) systems connected to the utility power grid. Rebates of $2 per Watt DC up to $20,000 per system are available to all grid-connected electrical customers. Larger systems may be negotiated, project funding is limited, and other conditions should be noted.
It should also be noted that numerous Minnesota public utility companies offer dozens of incentive programs which reward commercial and residential energy efficiency and conservation efforts.
Net Metering, in effect in Minnesota since 1981, is available on photovoltaics, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, municipal solid waste, and chp/cogeneration installations up to a 40kW capacity. Residential, commercial, and industrial sectors are eligible. The utility compensates the customer for net excess generation (NEG) at essentially the same rate that a customer is charged. (With the exception of Wisconsin, customers in other states can generally expect less.) Solar and Wind Easements are covered under a law enacted in 1978 and amended in 2007.
A Mandatory Utility Green Power Option was initiated in 2001,requiring electric utilities to offer customers the option of purchasing “green power”. This is power the utility company derives from photovoltaics, landfill gas, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal electric, fuel cells using renewable fuels, or microturbines.
Under the Community-Based Energy Development Tariff (implemented 5/26/2007), public utilities are required to file with the state Public Utilities Commission to create a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for community-owned renewable energy projects. The tariff is applicable to utilities generating electricity from solar thermal electric, photovoltaics, landfill gas, wind, biomass, municipal solid waste, hydrogen, and hydroelectric below 60 mW.
A Minnesota Property Tax Exemption excludes from (real estate) property taxation the value added by the installation of photovoltaic or wind systems. Similarly, commercial and residential users are eligible for a State Sales Tax Exemption applying to Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, and Photovoltaics. An Energy Investment Loan Program available to schools, hospitals, and local governments encourages investment in solar water heat, solar space heat, solar thermal process heat, wind, and biomass systems. Under this program, Minnesota will buy down up to 50% of the loan principal to 0% interest for any specific renewable energy, energy efficiency or energy conservation “capital improvement” measure with a simple payback of 10 years or less in an existing building. Maximum amount is $500,000 with limited funding; $8 million is available, but if fully utilized, new loan commitments cannot be satisfied until old loans expire.
Minnesota has established Design Requirements for State Funded Buildings which emphasize the use of solar heating and cooling systems or geothermal power.
A similar program, Sustainable Building Guidelines for New State Construction, applies more broadly to passive solar space heat, solar water heat, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, geothermal heat pumps, chp/cogeneration and daylighting is described at http://www.msbg.umn.edu/.
Last, but not least, the Renewable Portfolio Standard described in the opening paragraph above

EXAMPLE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR INSTALLATION
Almost 60% of Minnesota’s five million people live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul “Twin Cities” area and use about 9,840 kWh/year of electricity – the state’s average residential consumption. A photovoltaic solar installation to produce 50% of the electrical needs of the average Minneapolis household requires a roof area of 400 square feet. System and installation costs, assuming a mid-range figure, will be approximately $36,000. After applying the $2,000 federal tax refund and an expected state rebate of $6,480, the net installation cost is $27,520. The benefits:
Estimated increase in property value – $6,380
Estimated 25-year utility savings – $13,386
Estimated reduction in greenhouse gases (CO2) – 101 tons

CONSENSUS
Minnesota prides itself on being a leader “in developing and implementing innovative energy policies”, and judging by the number of solar and renewable energy programs available to its residents, they are living up to their promise. The fact that Minnesota is among the top ten states in both green pricing and net metering customers further suggests their efforts are being well received. Kudos to both the state’s elected officials and to participating utility companies.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/minnesota/