Minnesota Renewable Energy Programs and Incentives

Minnesota led the way in 2019 with respect to renewable energy practices and incentives. Since then, their legislation has paused on investment assistance to understand the impact of renewable projects within their community and build the next phase of supporting guidelines.

There are strict targets placed to achieve partial energy independence by 2030, and the State Government should be releasing details soon to support these objectives.

REA will continue to monitor results and share the findings when they are available.

Rundown of Minnesota Programs

  • The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is an outcome of the 2023 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that allows businesses to deduct 30% (although there are adders to increase up to 60%) of solar panel system costs. This is a rebate on federal taxes and a substantial incentive for larger solar projects.

    In some cases, a business may not be able to fully utilize the ITC. Renewable Energy Advisors has a network of businesses who are interested in acquiring the tax credits in exchange for cash to pay down development costs in a sooner cycle than waiting for tax contributions.

    REA focuses on commercial development and may not be aware of all residentially available incentives.

  • As with most states, Minnesota provides a net-metering solution. This is a remote option allowing residential and commercial customers generating electricity from solar power to sell excess electricity to the grid at an agreed rate. This grid contribution ‘nets’ out to offset energy billed from the grid (when solar panels are underperforming) and reducing utility bills in real-time.

    REA focuses on commercial development and may not be aware of all residentially available incentives.

  • For each megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity a solar panel system produces, the owner receives one SREC that can be sold to the utility.