Sign up for Solar
Subscribe to a community solar garden
Community Solar Gardens allow homeowners or renters in many parts of the state to support clean energy and climate justice and save money on electricity without installing solar panels themselves.
It’s similar to purchasing a CSA share from a farmer, but instead of getting a box of food every week you get a share of the electricity.
Minnesota has been a pioneer in Community Solar Gardens since the Legislature passed authorizing legislation in 2013.
There are two major benefits to buying into a solar garden:
Lower Cost. Community solar gardens allow people to save money in two ways. Take advantage of solar energy for as little as a third of the cost of a regular electricity bill, and avoid the hassle of installing solar panels on one's home or business. Solar gardens also allow for renters and owners with poor southern sun exposure to access solar energy.
Reducing Climate Disruption: Traditional sources of electricity such as coal plants and gas-fired plants release a lot of carbon dioxide into the air. That contributes to climate change. When you consider the full cost of coal, which includes what we pay as a society in harmful side effects to our health, solar costs half as much to develop and operate as coal plants.
Eligibility
The Just Solar Coalition helps develop community solar gardens in a number of Minnesota counties. To subscribe to one of our gardens, you must be a customer of Xcel Energy in one of the following Minnesota counties:
Anoka, Benton, Blue Earth, Carver, Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Le Sueur, Mower, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Steele, Waseca, and Wright. If you qualify geographically and are interested, please contact us and we’ll give you more information about next steps.
If you live in St Peter and are interested in Community Solar, St Peter Public Utilities offers their own Community Solar opportunity! For more information, visit the this page on the city website or email riverprairienetwork@mnipl.org.
Coalition Partner Projects
Our coalition members have exciting projects in the works to advance equitable solar. Learn more and get involved at the links below: