Learn More About the Grant
The 2023 Minnesota Legislative Session resulted in significant program updates and improvements. These changes were incorporated into the program as of the January 2024 Request for Proposal (RFP) funding round.
As of January 2024, eligible schools include Independent and Special School Districts, Tribal Contract schools, and Cooperative School Districts statewide. All eligible schools are encouraged to apply for grants up to 40-70% of the cost to purchase and install a solar energy system. For K-12 schools, the maximum allowable grant size is determined by the most recent Adjusted Net Tax Capacity (ANTC) divided by the Adjusted Pupil Unit (APU). For state colleges and universities, the maximum allowable grant will be 50%, for tribal contract schools 60% and for cooperative school districts 40%.
Eligible K-12 School List 2023 ANTC/ 2025 APU Values
The overall maximum grant is $500,000 outside of Xcel service territory and $675,000 for within Xcel service territory. These are also both the lifetime caps for school districts both in and outside Xcel service territory meaning that the maximum grant dollars that a school’s district can receiving for either one or multiple systems is $500,000 and $675,000 respectfully. The determination for the reduction in the grant value from past year to this current year was to account for tax credits that Solar for Schools’ systems are eligible for. The determination for the cap for projects within Xcel service territory relates to the availability of both tax credits and the photovoltaic demand credit.
Chart showing school types, system sizes, grant values, and service territories related to the Solar for Schools grant program.