The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill which places the state on a path to 100% carbon-free electricity by the year 2050. This bill will expand opportunities for low-income families and rural communities to participate in the state’s successful community solar programs. SunShare’s CEO, David Amster-Olszewski, who has helpedRead More

Minnesota has cemented its status as the community solar state, but a design flaw in its program design has left many in the community not benefiting much from the abundance in capacity — namely, homeowners. Last week the Minnesota Public Utility took action to try and change that, voting unanimouslyRead More

You’ve probably heard, but more solar is being installed than ever before. As the cost of solar dropped the last decade, the economic case in areas of the country with high electricity prices was simple. This isn’t the case in the Midwest, where energy costs are lower, which keeps everyoneRead More

The state legislature of Minnesota passed a bill that sought to make state utilities exempt from regulation by the Public Utilities Commission. The purpose here was to get them out of the current net metering rates and be able to impose fees that would harm the residential solar industry inRead More

Ten years ago, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and a bipartisan coalition of legislators enacted the Next Generation Energy Act. The landmark legislation passed with support from 97 percent of the Legislature – Democrats and Republicans. In the ensuing decade, the Next Generation Energy Act added about 15,000 clean energy jobsRead More

Last week, the now Republican-heavy Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill to cut the Made in Minnesota (MiM) initiative – a $15-million annual awards program that helped homeowners and businesses install solar panels. The program required that the parts and panels were built in Minnesota. Sounds cool to us,Read More

NRG Energy, Inc has broken ground on its first five community solar projects in Minnesota and reached agreements to subscribe several national business customers to its solar farms in the state. “Across Minnesota we are hearing the same strong message from residents and businesses alike: they want to be poweredRead More

  Minnesota’s long-awaited community solar project may be ready to commence construction after the Public Utilities Commission approved the plan and the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the size limitations that were challenged by developer Sunrise Energy Ventures. A 2013 state law required utility Xcel Energy to offer the communityRead More

SunEdison Inc. completed two solar power systems totaling 1.2 MW AC for the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities’ wastewater treatment plant in partnership with Oak Leaf Energy Partners, a national solar developer. SunEdison constructed and financed the installations and will be the long-term owner and operator of the systems. TheRead More