Solar power in Minnesota

University of Minnesota solar car

Solar power in Minnesota has been increasing, as the cost of photovoltaics has decreased. Minnesota adopted a net metering rule which allows customers generating up to 40 kW to use net metering, with the kilowatt hour surplus rolled over each month, or optionally credited at the retail rate.

Minnesota's largest solar array is the 600 kW array on the roof of the Minneapolis Convention Center, but a 2 MW array is being constructed in Slayton, as well as a 1.1 MW array in Bloomington.

A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system will pay for itself in about 10 years. With incentives, a $25,000 system can be installed for a cost after the first year of $8,064, and will generate a profit of over $24,000 over its 25 year life.

In May 2013, the Minnesota legislature adopted a mandate on investor-owned utilities in the state that requires them to produce 1.5% of their electricity from solar power by 2020 with the bill also raising the state's cap on net metering from 40 kW to 1 MW. This mandate is in addition to the state's renewable portfolio standard of 25% by 2025 and it's estimated that affected utilities will have to add 450 MW of solar by 2020 to comply with the 1.5% requirement.

Statistics

Source: NREL

Minnesota Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)
Year	Capacity	Installed	% Change
2007	0.5	0.3	150%
2008	1.0	0.3	100%
2009	1.9	0.9	90%
2010	3.6	1.7	89%
2011	4.8	1.2	33%

See also

• Renewable energy
• Solar power

External links

• Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association
• Incentives and Policies