Dive Brief:
- The size of community solar gardens has divided Minnesota green power advocates and Xcel Energy, with the utility arguing larger projects will wind up costing customers more on their monthly bills.
- But solar advocates say larger and connected projects were intended by state lawmakers when they developed community solar rules last year, and the utility is overstating potential impacts.
- Xcel has received hundreds of applications from solar developers, and approximately 58% of the solar garden projects in the queue are greater than or equal to 10 MW.
Dive Insight:
Solar advocates and Xcel are debating the legislative intent of Minnesota's community solar rules, with the utility arguing that such large projects were never imagined.
"While we recognize the Commission has provided guidance to allow for solar gardens to be sited near each other in order to share distribution infrastructure we believe the types of projects currently in the queue are not consistent with the expectations underlying and supporting the Commission’s guidance," the utility said in comments filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
The solar industry is expected to file its rebuttal today, Midwest Eenery News reports. But the industry strongly supports the community gardens and believes Xcel has overestimated the potential cost impacts. While the utility believes the larger gardens could boost rates by up to 2%, costing customers $50 million, supporters of the larger solar generation see the potential for cost savings.
“The goals were solar for everyone and to spur innovation, create jobs and start a new industry in the state of Minnesota and that’s what it’s doing,” Sunshare CEO David Amster-Olszewski told Midwest Energy News.
Minnesota had 14 MW of solar installed at the end of last year, but now has more than 400 MW in the queue, thanks to the community solar program.