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Community Solar Gardens

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    Contact Commerce 

    If you have complaints or concerns related to your consumer rights (either as a prospective, current, or former subscriber), please contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Division at 651-539-1886 or CommunitySolar@state.mn.us.

    For Consumers

    Low- and Moderate-Income Accessible CSG Program 

    New in 2024, the Low- and Moderate-Income Accessible Community Solar Garden Program (LMI-Accessible CSG Program) provides new opportunities for Minnesotans to subscribe to solar gardens – helping to support clean energy development in Minnesota, while saving on your energy bills. The program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, though the individual community solar gardens are owned and operated by third parties. 

    How Does it Work? 

    Interested Minnesota customers of Xcel Energy sign up with a community solar garden (CSG) operator (also known as a “Subscriber Organization”) and are assigned to a state-approved CSG with available capacity. Once the CSG begins producing solar energy, subscribers will receive a monthly solar credit on their Xcel Energy bill based on the amount of energy produced by the CSG in the previous month. The CSG operator then bills subscribers based on a percentage of their bill credit for that month.  

    • The cost of a community solar garden subscription (including all fees) must not exceed the value of the subscriber's community solar garden bill credit.  
    • For income-eligible households, subscription costs cannot exceed 90 percent of the bill credit, thus providing guaranteed savings.  
    • The solar bill credit rates are calculated by customer class based on a percentage of average retail electric rates, which are updated annually.  

    At least 30% of each CSG’s capacity must be reserved for income-eligible households, defined as those making 150% of area median income or below. (Check the 2024 Area Median Income Look-Up Table to see if you qualify based on your household size and county of residence.) An additional 25% of each garden’s capacity must be reserved for additional income-eligible households, affordable housing providers, and/or public interest subscribers such as schools, faith communities, and non-profits. Households will need to prove income eligibility to Subscriber Organizations with tax returns or other approved documentation. Any personal information besides name, address, income, and household size can be redacted from any documents submitted for income verification.   

    Consumer Rights

    • Income-eligible households cannot be charged any fees at the time the subscription is executed. 
    • CSG operators cannot check credit scores or credit history of current or potential residential subscribers. 
    • CSG operators cannot charge an exit fee to residential subscribers. 
    • The CSG subscription is transferable and portable, but only within Xcel Energy’s Minnesota service territory. 
    • CSG operators must adhere to the Subscriber Organization Code of Conduct, which sets rules around marketing, courteous treatment of customers, and protection of consumer data. 
    • Beginning in 2025, subscribers will have the option to enroll in consolidated billing, meaning that their subscription fees will be included on their Xcel bill and not paid separately to the CSG operator. 
    • CSG operators must produce an annual operations report for each CSG and give subscribers an opportunity to submit comments on the report.  

    If you have complaints or concerns related to your consumer rights (either as a prospective, current, or former subscriber), please contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Division at 651-539-1886 or CommunitySolar@state.mn.us. 

    How Do I Sign Up?

    The program is open to all Xcel customers in Minnesota, pending availability. Potential CSG subscribers must sign up directly with the private operators of the solar gardens, not with the Department of Commerce. All community solar projects in the LMI-Accessible CSG Program have been approved by Commerce and are subject to ongoing review. As a potential subscriber, it is your responsibility to explore your options and select the CSG that is the best fit for you. Commerce doesn’t endorse any particular project or operator. To help with your selection, each CSG operator is required to present potential subscribers with a standardized Contract Disclosure Form to help you understand the contract and to help with comparison shopping. 

    Organizations with Approved LMI-Accessible Community Solar Gardens (listed in random order): 

    Nokomis Energy 
    connect@nokomisenergy.com 
    612-470-3223 
    Currently Accepting Subscribers 

    Renewable Properties 
    communitysolar@renewprop.com
    1-800-277-3631
    Enrolling Soon

    SunShare 
    info@mysunshare.com 
    800-793-0786 
    Currently Accepting Subscribers  

    Sunscription powered by US Solar 
    support@sunscription.com 
    1-800-877-6527 
    Currently Accepting Subscribers  

    Cooperative Energy Futures 
    info@cooperativeenergyfutures.com 
    612-568-2334 
    Currently Accepting Income-Qualified Subscribers

    Minneapolis Climate Action   powered by Renewable Energy Partners
    subscriber@mplsclimate.org
    612-868-3865
    Currently Accepting Subscribers

    New Energy Equity 
    bennett@newenergyequity.com 
    952-465-9553 
    Currently Accepting Subscribers 

    Solar Landscape
    info@solarlandscape.com
    844-765-2769
    Enrolling Soon

    Greenway Solar - NE Solar Garden/MRES
    solargarden@greenwaysolar.org
    612-416-1518
    Currently Accepting Subscribers 

    JoinSolar powered by Novel Energy Solutions, LLC
    Subscribe@JoinSolar.com
    651-347-1101

    Green Street Power Partners 
    gspowerpartners@powermarket.io
    888-487-1192
    Currently Accepting Subscribers

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