A Minnesota Solar Suitability App, developed by the University of Minnesota with support from the Department of Commerce, can help identify the solar potential for homes, businesses, and public buildings in Minnesota. The free tool uses Lidar data and GIS technology.

Xcel’s Hosting Capacity Map provides a high level estimate of the available hosting capacity for adding distributed generation.

Report: Enhanced Hosting Capacity Analysis | October 15, 2018 | The goal of this analysis was to determine the current hosting capacity and assess the potential for higher penetrations of solar. Hosting capacity is the amount of solar that can be added to an electric grid without adversely impacting reliability. This report presents static and enhanced hosting capacity analyses on four feeders in Minnesota. The analysis considered four advanced technology strategies to determine their impact on increasing hosting capacity: Smart inverters (distributed and centrally-coordinated control); Energy storage; Thermal load shifting; Curtailment; and Combined control scenario of all four technologies.This work for the Minnesota Solar Pathways Project was supported in part from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Minnesota Wind Maps were developed for the Department by WindLogics using atmospheric modeling. The maps show the wind speed resources at 30, 80, and 100 meters, as well as capacity factor and energy production estimates for a 1.65 MW wind turbine at 80 meters.

See also: The US Wind Turbine Database for large wind energy projects is maintained by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in collaboration with public and private partners. 

Guidelines for siting and permitting small wind turbines

For Distributed Generation that emit air pollutants, an air permit may be required from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Site permits for Distributed Generation projects are primarily handled at the local county or city level.

The Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) unit conducts environmental review of large energy projects for which the Department of Commerce is the responsible governmental unit. 

These projects include:

• Wind farms greater equal to or greater than 5 megawatts
• Large electric power generating plants equal to or greater than 50 megawatts (including solar generation facilities)

See the EERA website for additional resources, including studies, maps, and permitting guidance that may be useful for large and small projects, for example: 

• Solar Siting and Environmental Review Working Group - Final Report: Recognizing that Minnesota is entering a period of unprecedented solar growth and development, the Minnesota Department of Commerce convened the Solar Siting and Environmental Review Working Group (Working Group) to discuss and identify issues and opportunities related to reviewing, permitting, and siting new solar facilities. The Working Group – a small but broad stakeholder group of advocates, developers, local governments, state agencies, and utilities – agreed there is a state interest in permitting solar facilities below the current 50 MW specified in the Minnesota Power Plant Siting Act. Participants also agreed that a local permitting option should exist for local governments that have ordinances addressing solar facilities. | March 26, 2015

Minnesota has statutes, codes, and rules regarding interconnection of solar energy systems, large and small. The state uses the following to measure safety, reliability, and code compliance for interconnection:

• Minnesota Interconnection Standards in accordance with Minnesota Statute 216B.1611
  • for information about recent updates to statewide interconnection standards, see the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Interconnection Information website
• Minnesota Rules Chapter 7835 
• National Electrical Code as adopted under the State Building Code Minnesota Statute 326B.35
• National Electrical Safety Code as adopted in accordance with Minnesota Statute 326B.35 
• Solar Photovoltaic: Electrical licensing, permits, inspection fees and code

Sometimes there may be disagreement regarding the conditions of interconnection from the utility. Solar professionals and their clients are encouraged to work with the electric utility to resolve disputes in a way that is consistent with state law, codes and standards. If discussion doesn’t result in a satisfactory interconnection approval, there are state resources that may be useful. 

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates the rates, services, and policies of electric utilities. The Consumer Affairs Office of the PUC offers an informal process to help resolve certain types of disputes between customers and utilities, such as interconnection disputes. See the PUC’s Dispute Resolution website for more information.  

This report characterizes existing utility interconnection practices and assesses opportunities to streamline them. This work for the Minnesota Solar Pathways Project was supported in part from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. | December 26, 2017 | Report Details