Minnesota has historically relied on unstable fossil fuels for electricity. However, as concerns over localized pollution and climate change have risen in the land of 1,000 lakes, coupled with rising utility prices for homeowners, Minnesota has aggressively started to pursue widespread solar deployment.

The average price currently in Minnesota is 12 cents per kWh. This falls just under the national average (13 cents per kWh). Though Minnesotans aren’t paying insane rates for their electricity (yet), those energy prices will certainly begin to rise.

To become less dependent on fossil fuels, the state continues to encourage renewable energy adoption through legislation and policies with the electricity companies.

Minnesota has one of the nation’s best Renewable Portfolio Standards. The state not only requires utilities to generate a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources, but it also requires them to do this by a certain date. In order to encourage this adoption so they aren’t penalized with fines by the state, utilities, in turn, will offer generous rebates and incentives for homeowners who switch to renewable energy and help them meet their goal.

Renewable Portfolio Standards

Every utility company in Minnesota is required to have 25% of their generation coming from renewable energy by 2025. The larger utilities in Minnesota are held to even larger standards. These investor-owned utilities are required to have an additional 1.5% of their overall energy generation in solar power alone!

The state’s largest utility, Xcel is required to have 31.5% of its generation from renewable sources by 2025. With a requirement like that – there must be favorable incentives for homeowners.

Utilities

All utilities in Minnesota are required to have net metering. In the Gopher State, net metering policies allow a homeowner to receive full retail credit for any excess kWh’s produced by their solar system. Projects are capped at 40 kW, but most homeowners will fall way below this system size anyway.

Xcel, the state’s largest utility, has a Solar Rewards program for its customers looking to install a PV system. Homeowners can earn 8 cents per kWh that their system produces through the program.

To participate, they must not receive incentives through the Made in Minnesota program (more on this later) and must assign the renewable energy credits (RECS) their system produces to their utilities for the next 10 years.

Minnesota Power has an incentive program that allows solar customers to get paid out up to 94 cents per kWh their system produces. The SolarSense program is first to come first serve, and can not exceed $20,000 or 60% of the total system cost.

Otter Tail Power offers a solar incentive program to its customers for $1,250 per kilowatt of their system, not exceeding 50% of the system costs. For a 5kW system, that’s $6,250 off the cost of a system for a homeowner!

Beyond the investor-owned utilities, most public utilities in Minnesota have incentive programs for solar customers as well. Below is a list:

• Owatonna Public Utilities – $.50 per installed watt ($500 per kW) of solar up to 10 kW systems.
• Rochester Public Utilities – $.50 per installed watt ($500 per kW) of solar up to 10 kW systems.
• Austin Utilities – $.50 per installed watt ($500 per kW) of solar up to 10 kW systems
• Brainerd Public Utilities – Rebates at $2/watt installed, up to $4,000; systems limited to <40 kW
• Moorhead Public Service Utility – Up to $1,500 per kW installed
• New Ulm Public Utilities – $1 per watt, for new systems up to 40 kW, capped at $2,000 per project.
• Dakota Electric – Rebate of $.50 per watt for installed capacity, Does not exceed $4,000

Made in Minnesota

If you are a homeowner in one of the big three investor-owned utilities (Xcel, Minnesota Power, and Otter Tail Power) who purchases solar equipment made in Minnesota, you can also qualify for the Made in Minnesota (MiM) solar incentive.

The incentive is performance-based, and the incentive amounts vary based on the type of solar system and size. Applicants are selected through a lottery process, and residential homeowners can earn up to .14 cents to .27 cents per kWh the system produces. They are paid out annually each year for the next 10 years.

The Federal Solar Tax Credit (Federal ITC)

After rebates and incentives are calculated, homeowners can claim the Federal Solar Tax credit on their system. The ITC covers 30% of the overall system cost and includes upgrades needed on their home in order to go solar. Check this video to know more about Federal Solar Tax Credit.

For Minnesotans, now is the perfect time to take advantage of all these incentives and go solar! 

If you are a homeowner anywhere in Washington state, you are sitting on an untapped goldmine of opportunity. You’ll be happy to hear that Washington has some of the best incentives available in the country for homeowners looking to add a solar energy system to their home. There are still federal incentives, utility incentives, and a statewide manufacturing incentive.

Washington Solar Incentives

The most attractive incentive in Washington state is the Renewable Energy System Cost Recovery Incentive Payment Program (RECR), a program specific to the state of Washington. This is a performance payment made to eligible clients that install solar. The RECR program is voluntary and participation is up to individual utilities. If your utility does participate then your performance payments will be paid out by the utility. Incentives are available for all solar panels and inverters.

However, panels and/or inverters manufactured in the state of Washington receive additional incentives. The incentive is broken down below.

How the rebate is calculated for your solar system:

• The solar module that is made in WA state – $0.36/kWh
• The solar inverter that is made in WA state – $0.18/kWh
• Both solar modules and inverters that are made in state – $0.54/kWh

If you would like to learn more about the Washington State Incentive, please give Solar.com a call at (888) 454-9979, we can tell you if your utility participates in the program, and what equipment qualifies as “Made in WA”.

The performance payment is based on the total electricity produced by your system from July 1 to June 30 of each year. The actual payment is made based on the actual production of your system in kilo-watt hours (kWh) generated and the limit is $5,000 per year for any individual.

The RECR program expires on June 30, 2020. No performance payments will be made for electricity produced after that date.

Let’s look at a few examples where a solar energy system produces 5,000 kWh, 8,000 kWh, and 12,000 kWh in the first year, and the solar panels and inverter are made in Washington:

• 5,000 kWh x $0.54 = $2,700
• 8,000 kWh x $0.54 = $4,320
• 12,000 kWh x $0.54 = $5,000

Federal ITC

The Federal ITC is available to homeowners with federal tax liability, who install a solar system. This credit equals 30% of the gross system cost of your system. For example, if your system has a gross system cost of $20,000, you will receive a $6,000 federal tax credit.

Make sure to check with your tax advisor or CPA for eligibility!

Utility Rebate

There is also a utility rebate available for any homeowners that live in Snohomish County and receive their electricity from the Snohomish PUD. If you own the system you will receive $300 per DC kW installed, with a cap of $2,000.

For example, if you install a 5 kW system you receive $1,500. If you install an 8 kW system you will receive $2,000 from the utility. You’ll need to have your project submitted to the utility by June 30^th, 2017 to be considered for this cash incentive!

If you’re considering solar in Washington check in with Solar.com. We go through the utmost care to design your system and help you find the best bids for your home with vetted local and regional installers. We will also ensure that you receive all the incentives that are possible in your area.

This includes performance payments, utility rebate, etc. See how much you can save with Solar.com, here!