Two years ago a group of green energy entrepreneurs came together to form a new association to promote solar manufacturing in Minnesota.
The nonprofit Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association (MnSEIA) has attracted 39 members and has held a number of meetings, including co-sponsoring a solar supply chain roundtable last week at Maplewood-based 3M Co.’s Innovation Center.
Lynn Hinkle, the group’s policy director, said the organization was behind the executive order from Gov. Mark Dayton to reduce energy consumption in state buildings by 20 percent in the next five years.
Solar has been a bit of a poor cousin to other renewable energy sources in the state. Wind and biomass, especially ethanol, have garnered the most support in terms of tax policy and subsidies while creating a significant manufacturing base. But the sun’s energy has not captured the same interest, though MnSEIA and its allies – Solar Works Minnesota and the Blue Green Alliance – would like to change that.
Hinkle told the roundtable last week that Minnesota has a well-established, “robust and mature” solar supply chain that employs more than 1,200 workers officially, although the number could be higher. The companies include 3M, which says its solar business is growing rapidly, and Northfield Automation Systems, which sells equipment to solar manufacturers, he said.
“In terms of a solar supply chain, we have a large number of companies that are already here and serving clients, while other states have been incentivizing companies to relocate to create the kind of supply chain we already have,” Hinkle said.
Although an active follower of the industry, he said he is still surprised to find Minnesota companies that have quietly established solar divisions. He recently discovered that Graco, a Minneapolis company that develops fluid-handling systems, has a substantial portfolio of adhesives and sealants for solar manufacturers.
