Minnesota regulators on Thursday lowered the compensation rate for community solar gardens in a move designed to save money for Xcel Energy ratepayers that drew opposition from the solar industry and energy justice advocates.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), a governor-appointed board that regulates the state’s energy providers, voted unanimously to change the way Minnesota’s original group of community solar gardens are reimbursed for the power they generate for Xcel Energy.
The rate change, a modified version of what was proposed by Xcel in September, will reduce reimbursements for most community solar garden subscribers in the state’s legacy program by around 30%. The decision will lower compensation rates for 742 of Minnesota’s 883 community solar gardens and alter rates set out in 25-year contracts between the developers and subscribers.
Xcel Energy argued that compensation rates for community solar were too expensive, and said the program’s costs would require the utility to charge an extra $7 per month on every Minnesota customer’s bill in 2024, creating a system where nonsubscribers were paying for the program.