News Releases

March 1, 2010

Xcel Energy launches Solar*Rewards in Minnesota

Program offers incentives for customer-generated solar power

       MINNEAPOLIS – Xcel Energy announced today that it is now offering incentives to Minnesota electricity customers to install solar panels on top of their homes and businesses.      

To encourage the growth of solar energy in the state, Xcel Energy’s Solar*Rewards will make a one-time payment of $2.25 per installed watt of generating capacity to help off-set the cost to customers who install small or medium rooftop photovoltaic systems.

For an average size residential installation of 3.5 kilowatts or 3,500 watts, the incentive payment would be $7,875, or about 30 percent of the installation costs.  In addition to the Solar*Reward incentive, federal, state and local government agencies may provide customers with other rebate opportunities for installations.

“Minnesota is a great resource for solar energy,” said Laura McCarten, Xcel Energy regional vice president. “Our Solar*Rewards program makes it more affordable for residents and business owners interested in this clean, sustainable energy option.”

Solar*Reward participants must agree to install a system with a capacity of 0.5 kilowatts to 40 kilowatts.  In exchange for the incentive payment, ownership of the Renewable Energy Credits produced by the system will transfer to Xcel Energy for a term of 20 years. Xcel Energy will also buy any energy that a system produces in excess of the customer’s needs.    

Through Solar*Rewards, Xcel Energy plans to support the installation of about 2 megawatts of solar energy each year for the next three years, or approximately 450 installed systems annually.

            “The program will benefit both our customers and the environment,” said McCarten. “One 3.5 kilowatt photovoltaic system produces enough renewable energy to offset the carbon dioxide emissions produced from driving a car more than 6,000 miles. Also, when we buy your excess energy, we’re adding renewable energy to our grid and, therefore, reducing emissions.”

          Participants must be Xcel Energy electricity customers in Minnesota with an unshaded south, east or west-facing roof in good condition, and they must agree to have the system interconnected to the grid. This program applies to photovoltaic generating systems only.  Click for more program details.

Solar*Reward is part of Xcel Energy’s 2010–2012 Conservation Improvement Program (CIP), a comprehensive series of new and expanded programs that will guide the company’s electricity and natural gas conservation and load management efforts for the next three years. CIP was approved by the Minnesota Office of Energy Security in December 2009.

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Xcel Energy is committed to minimizing its impact on the environment. The company is the nation’s No. 1 wind energy provider and is a leader in emissions reduction programs and the development of new technologies to bring clean, renewable energy onto its system at a reasonable cost for customers.