A decision this week by Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission soon could change the way Minnesotans get credited for the solar energy they produce.
The commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to adopt a Minnesota Department of Commerce-developed method of calculating the value of solar energy. The method soon could be used by public utilities, such as Xcel Energy, to determine a value-of-solar tariff — a new rate that would be used to credit its solar-energy-producing customers.
The new methodology is expected to be formalized by April 1 with a written decision by the commission. No other state in the country has a formal methodology for determining the value of solar energy.
“I am very pleased the Public Utilities Commission approved our department’s Value of Solar Methodology, making Minnesota the first state in the nation to take this big step forward — one we believe gives consumers and utilities an alternative way to expand solar energy in Minnesota,” Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said in a statement Thursday.
Click here to learn more in a recent article from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press >>
