There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.
Minnesota continues to develop solar friendly programs. Lawmakers recently adopted the IEEE solar interconnection standard, making it easier to connect your panels to the grid. Minnesota has also been a leader in implementing innovative community solar programs, and the state's largest utility company, Xcel Energy, also offers a great low-income solar program.
All told, the North Star State loves the sun, and going solar here can be a great financial decision, too! Read on to learn more about the ins and outs of solar in Minnesota.
Learn what solar incentives are available to Minnesota homeowners
See what Minnesota solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
Find out how much these incentives and/or Minnesota solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Minnesota
If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.
The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume. If you run a surplus, you get credit for it.
Minnesota’s net metering law applies to all utilities, and requires them to provide net metering for all solar power systems less than 40 kW. The 40-kW limit should cover virtually all residential solar systems, which typically come in somewhere around 5-kW for a single-family home.
While commercial and industrial customers may not be able to take advantage of net metering, it’s a pretty sweet deal for your residential system. You get compensation for any surplus you generate at the “average retail utility energy rate.” Minnesota has a specific formula for determining what that is, but it basically amounts to the same as the retail rate you pay every month for electricity. Compensation may come as either actual payment (i.e. a check) or a credit on your future bills.
Because Minnesota has such a strong RPS, there are a number of great utility rebates offered for solar. Most are paid as a simple calculation of dollars-per-kilowatt of generating capacity, but there's one that's different.
Minnesota Power offers a solar rebate program based on your first-year estimated production. The current incentive is $0.083 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and with an average 5-kW system pumping out about 6,200 kWh, you can expect around $5,150 back as a rebate. That's a great incentive, but they disappear fast, so get in touch with a solar expert near you today and get the ball rolling on that rebate!
If you’re lucky enough to be an Xcel customer in Minnesota, you should definitely sign up for their Solar*Rewards Program. It pays you on an ongoing basis for the amount of kwh you produce with your solar panels.
You sign a contract to give your renewable energy certificates to Xcel for 20 years. They will pay you for the first 10 years at a rate of $.07/kwh, which is huge!
On an average sized 6kW system, you can expect to reap about $700 annually or $6,500 over those ten years.
Income-qualified Xcel customers who receive benefits under the Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LIEAP) or Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) can get a whopping $2,000 per kilowatt solar rebate from Xcel. If you make about $52,000 or less for a family of 4, you can qualify. The system must be sized to a maximum of 120% of your usage. For an average sized 6kW system, that amounts to $12,000!
A newly-installed solar power system is 100% exempt from associated property taxes. When a solar power system is installed, your home value rises significantly – twenty times estimated annual electricity savings. With the Minnesota property tax exemption in place, you’ll never pay any taxes on that home value jump.
The purchase of your solar power system in Minnesota is 100% exempt from sales tax. That saves you almost 7% up front.
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 10.1kW system, after 30% federal tax credit
25 solar companies in Minnesota provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.82 418 Reviews
Suzanne Breen, 1 week ago
We had a great experience working with All Energy. The entire process was efficient and easy to navigate. Their team is great. Our panels are ground-mounted in an extremely challenging location and there were no issues with the design or installation. Our system is working really well after the first few months of operation.
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Suzanne Breen, 1 week ago
We had a great experience working with All Energy. The entire process was efficient and easy to navigate. Their team is great. Our panels are ground-mounted in an extremely challenging location and there were no issues with the design or installation. Our system is working really well after the first few months of operation.
4.79 65 Reviews
Justin Sandmann, 3 weeks ago
We contacted a few installers for quotes and ultimately selected MN Solar and More due to their competitive cost to install, the prior positive reviews from previous customers and the fact that they were a local MN company. They kept us updated on every part of the process through the Basecamp app and answered any questions we had. We were impressed with how organized the whole process was. They were onsite for a little more than 2 days and in that time, all materials were delivered, installed and tested. We've been using our solar panels now for a little more than a month and can track our energy production and consumption via an app on our phone(s). When we noticed one panel wasn't performing as well as the others, we contacted MN Solar and they quickly sent someone out to replace the panel at no charge. We would gladly recommend them to anyone intersted in solar energy!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$16,500 ($3.30 per watt)
Justin Sandmann, 3 weeks ago
We contacted a few installers for quotes and ultimately selected MN Solar and More due to their competitive cost to install, the prior positive reviews from previous customers and the fact that they were a local MN company. They kept us updated on every part of the process through the Basecamp app and answered any questions we had. We were impressed with how organized the whole process was. They were onsite for a little more than 2 days and in that time, all materials were delivered, installed and tested. We've been using our solar panels now for a little more than a month and can track our energy production and consumption via an app on our phone(s). When we noticed one panel wasn't performing as well as the others, we contacted MN Solar and they quickly sent someone out to replace the panel at no charge. We would gladly recommend them to anyone intersted in solar energy!
4.72 33 Reviews
Ground mount in SE MN, over 1 month
I admit, there were only 2 'bidders' for our home project. (1) Solar Connections and (2) me. I really wanted to design and install our own ground mount system myself. But I also knew, from many hours of research, from experience wiring this property and a glowing recommendation from a trusted friend in the power distribution business, that I had better get at least 1 other 'competing' bid. I fully expected that the bid would be too expensive for the size of the system I wanted. But once I saw it and figured what I would have to pay to get comparable hardware (that took me a while), the profit built into the bid seemed very fair. That, coupled with the fact that we are always happy to support local business and their estimated time to get the system up and running was way shorter than the 'preferred vendor... me' we signed up. Super glad we did. The whole process from sales to commissioning was low pressure, informative, VERY flexible given we decided midstream to upgrade some panels to both meet code today and be ready for battery chargers in the near future.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$20,550 ($4.11 per watt)
Ground mount in SE MN, over 1 month
I admit, there were only 2 'bidders' for our home project. (1) Solar Connections and (2) me. I really wanted to design and install our own ground mount system myself. But I also knew, from many hours of research, from experience wiring this property and a glowing recommendation from a trusted friend in the power distribution business, that I had better get at least 1 other 'competing' bid. I fully expected that the bid would be too expensive for the size of the system I wanted. But once I saw it and figured what I would have to pay to get comparable hardware (that took me a while), the profit built into the bid seemed very fair. That, coupled with the fact that we are always happy to support local business and their estimated time to get the system up and running was way shorter than the 'preferred vendor... me' we signed up. Super glad we did. The whole process from sales to commissioning was low pressure, informative, VERY flexible given we decided midstream to upgrade some panels to both meet code today and be ready for battery chargers in the near future.
4.46 16 Reviews
M.T. Mondovi, WI, over 1 month
Winona's quote proved the best value of three different quotes I received. They were professional and timely throughout the whole process. I found them to be honest and straightforward. I appreciated the staff's willingness to explain various details before, during and after installation. All members of the team gave the same professional courtesy and personal touch, which I felt confirmed a company with a great culture of service. I would not hesitate to recommend Winona Renewable Energy, in fact I would encourage anyone interested in solar to go with Winona Renewable!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$19,050 ($3.81 per watt)
M.T. Mondovi, WI, over 1 month
Winona's quote proved the best value of three different quotes I received. They were professional and timely throughout the whole process. I found them to be honest and straightforward. I appreciated the staff's willingness to explain various details before, during and after installation. All members of the team gave the same professional courtesy and personal touch, which I felt confirmed a company with a great culture of service. I would not hesitate to recommend Winona Renewable Energy, in fact I would encourage anyone interested in solar to go with Winona Renewable!
4.45 57 Reviews
Halsted, over 1 month
Working with Everlight Solar was a great experience! Especially, working with Graham Gunderson. I felt he understood what we wanted to accomplish with adding solar panels to our home and he tailored the project to our needs. There was great communication throughout the process which was important for us. I highly recommend this company and I have referred them to several friends and family!
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Halsted, over 1 month
Working with Everlight Solar was a great experience! Especially, working with Graham Gunderson. I felt he understood what we wanted to accomplish with adding solar panels to our home and he tailored the project to our needs. There was great communication throughout the process which was important for us. I highly recommend this company and I have referred them to several friends and family!
4.42 11 Reviews
Pete M, over 1 month
The installers were quick and professional. Customer service is excellent. Any questions were answered and easy to understand.
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Pete M, over 1 month
The installers were quick and professional. Customer service is excellent. Any questions were answered and easy to understand.
4.42 22 Reviews
Anonymous, over 1 month
Midwest installed an 18.9 kw ground mounted system for us that was an especially challenging set of circumstances. Without going into all the details, let's just say they went above and beyond to do whatever it took to make this work, and stayed at their quoted amount even after a lot of challenges. Top notch organization!
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Anonymous, over 1 month
Midwest installed an 18.9 kw ground mounted system for us that was an especially challenging set of circumstances. Without going into all the details, let's just say they went above and beyond to do whatever it took to make this work, and stayed at their quoted amount even after a lot of challenges. Top notch organization!
4.38 12 Reviews
Heather, over 1 month
REAL Solar installed our system last summer and it has been performing better than they said. They made the whole process very easy and were great to work with. Highly qualified and very friendly professionals!
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Heather, over 1 month
REAL Solar installed our system last summer and it has been performing better than they said. They made the whole process very easy and were great to work with. Highly qualified and very friendly professionals!
Tom Loeffler, over 1 month
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4.29 7 Reviews
Cinevzn Media, over 1 month
We were very happy with the service Matt provided. It was honestly surprised how much solar reduced ours in our annual savings. Overall, very happy we went with Optimum!
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Cinevzn Media, over 1 month
We were very happy with the service Matt provided. It was honestly surprised how much solar reduced ours in our annual savings. Overall, very happy we went with Optimum!