Solar Resources
Solar resources for Homes & Businesses: Going Solar: Best practices, programs, funding, permitting, and more
Financial Incentives and Programs
- Federal Residential Solar Tax Credit: 26% for systems installed 2020-2022, and 22% for systems installed in 2023
- Net metering: all residential-sized installations receive compensation or bill credits for sending surplus electricity back to the grid
- Dakota Electric: as of January 2022, offers a one-time $500 rebate for residential solar PV arrays. The program also includes credits on your bill when your system produces more energy than your house needs, at a rate of $0.13 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
- Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards: when your home or business system produces more energy than is needed, it can produce credits on monthly bills. As of January 2022, this includes $0.07/kWh for residential systems and $0.06/kWh for commercial systems.
Best Practices
Find a Solar Group Buy for home or business owners. These use the power of bulk purchasing to make going solar easier and more affordable.
For home installations, make sure the contractor you select has a Minnesota building license. More details at Minnesota Contractor Recovery Fund.
System Calculators
You can estimate how big a solar PV system you would need and what’s possible for your roof size and orientation.
Google Project Sunroof: calculates shade time, total hours of usable sunlight per year, square footage of roof space, and kW size of solar system. It also includes estimates of payback time and key costs.
Energy Improvement Financing
Business property owners wanting to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements now have access to more financing tools.
The City of Eagan has partnered with the St. Paul Port Authority to:
- offer Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing for any business properties in Eagan and
- promote the Trillion BTU program for business properties in the Xcel Energy gas or electric service territories.
The MinnPACE program permits property owners who invest in energy improvements to have them financed through an assessment collected with their property taxes. PACE eliminates upfront costs and provides low-cost, long-term financing.
The Trillion BTU program structures payments to align with direct savings in energy costs through Xcel, so net costs to owners for energy plus improvements are not greater than their energy costs before the improvement. Up to 100% financing available.
Business property owners interested in the program are encouraged to contact
