Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends certain utility companies' production requirements for solar energy and establishes additional incentives for residential and commercial solar electricity production.

Highlights:

Requires a public utility to generate or procure at least 40 percent of its total retail energy sales in Minnesota from renewable resources by the end of 2030 (Sec. 20).

Requires a public utility to generate or procure the following percentages of its total retail energy sales in Minnesota from solar power by the end of the stated year (Sec. 22):

• At least 0.5 percent by the end of 2016;
• At least 2.0 percent by the end of 2020; and
• At least 4.0 percent by the end of 2025.

Exempts certain facilities from being charged by utility companies for any of the costs of satisfying the solar standards of this bill, including (Sec. 22):

• All iron mining and processing facilities; and
• All paper mills, wood product manufacturers, sawmills, or oriented strand board manufacturers.

Authorizes certain entities to enter into a net metering contract of at least 20 years with a public utility during which the utility must credit the entity with the value of the solar rate for the electricity the entity generates, including, but not limited to, the following entities (Secs. 14 & 15): 

• An individual who owns a residential or commercial solar photovoltaic panel with a generating capacity of 2 megawatts or less; or
• A community solar generating facility manager of a residential or commercial solar photovoltaic panel with a generating capacity of 2 megawatts or less that provides energy to at least 2 separate parties.

Requires a public utility to provide incentive payments to an owner of a solar photovoltaic panel in the following amounts (Sec. 31):

• $0.204 per kilowatt-hour for a residential solar photovoltaic panel;
• $0.181 per kilowatt-hour for a non-residential solar photovoltaic panel with a maximum generating capacity of less than 25 kilowatts;
• $0.159 per kilowatt-hour for a rooftop non-residential solar photovoltaic panel with a maximum generating capacity that is between 25 kilowatts and 2 megawatts; or
• $0.136 per kilowatt-hour for a ground-mounted non-residential solar photovoltaic panel with a maximum generating capacity that is between 25 kilowatts and 2 megawatts.

Prohibits a public utility from spending more than 1.33 percent of its total revenue on incentive payments for solar energy production (Sec. 31).

Establishes a production incentive account to pay incentives to qualified owners of a solar photovoltaic device that is certified as “Made in Minnesota” (Sec. 33). 

Specifies that the “Made in Minnesota” production incentive amount will be determined annually by the commissioner by using certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the following criteria (Sec. 33):

• The estimate of the installation cost per kilowatt-hour direct current; 
• The rate paid by utility companies to owners of solar photovoltaic devices; 
• The applicable federal tax incentives;
• The average insolation rate in Minnesota; and
• The estimate of decline in generating efficiency of solar photovoltaic devices.

Full Bill Text