Power Up Winona Community Solar is a group of 20 citizens formed with the commitment of bringing a 1 MW community solar garden (CSG) to Xcel Energy territory in Winona County.
They are close to realizing a CSG which will have about 30-40% residential subscriptions and 60-70% local institutions. If the demand exists—which early indications at recruiting subscribers seems to show—additional CSGs may be established in the coming years.
Southeast CERT supported the group with a $3,286 Seed Grant. Below are reflections by project lead Chris Meyer.
On how they began: “We started our journey thinking that community solar gardens were something that a community institution such as a municipal government, non-profit, or cooperative group might actually be able to own and manage. We knew that there were incentives and economies of scale and hoped our community could reap those financial rewards and bring a clean renewable energy source to our residents. We applied for this CERTs Seed Grant with the lofty goal of not just finding out if this was possible, but hoping to learn how and to make it happen. Though I still hope this is possible, the legal advice we received was that for a single community solar project the cost and expertise to put the financial and legal entities in place for CSG ownership was not practical. CSG developers invest substantial time and money to create the appropriate legal and financial structures to create CSGs.”
On the pay-as-you-go model: “The pay-as-you-go model was a revelation to our group. People could subscribe with no money down, with residential subscribers potentially expecting 5% savings, and local institutions up to 15%. It will allow the small residential subscriber to use the CSG bill credits to pay for their subscription over 25 years, and save a small sum on their electrical bill. This model makes participation by non-profit institutions a no-brainer as they can save on their electric bill with no initial investment, and they can anchor the array making it more attractive to the developer, thus improving the chances of success in its establishment.”
On doing outreach: “We were successful in engaging local institutions and recruiting their participation as potential anchor subscribers. Two or three of our group members set up meetings and gave presentations on what community solar was over the course of 10 months, and were able to get attendance by key personnel at the colleges, the city, and the public schools. We formed alliances with the sustainability committee at Winona State University and the facilities directors at Winona State and St Mary’s University that were extremely helpful in attracting a developer who would also sell residential subscriptions.”
Words of advice: “Reach out to the institutions in your community that you think would be interested in clean energy through community solar gardens and ask them to be involved as you contact community solar developers. Having potential anchor subscribers will help in this process. Educate as many other citizens as you can about how community solar works. Read all the available documentation and ask questions. It was particularly gratifying at the public events to talk to citizens who could not install solar at their residence and who told us they were excited to be able to sign up for community solar.”
Project Snapshot:
- Technology: Community Solar Garden
- Total Cost: $14,365
- SE CERT Seed Grant: $3,500
- Annual Energy Production: 2,150,000 kWh/yr
- Community Members Involved: 20
- Community Members Reached: 24,000
To learn more, read a recent interview with Chris Meyer or visit their website.
Want to learn how your community can get a CERTs Seed Grant to advance your work? Applications for the next round of grants are available and due October 26th. To get started, visit the Seed Grant page and see other awarded projects from past years.
Community Solar Gardens are centrally-located solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that provide electricity to participating subscribers. Could it work for you?Are you interested in going solar but unable to do so on your own? Perhaps you live in an apartment, have a shaded roof at home, or don’t have space at your organization.
Where do you want to start?
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