Introducing community solar gardens

According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, community solar gardens offer Minnesotans the opportunity to benefit from solar energy without installing a system at their home or business. It may have special appeal if you live in an apartment, have a house or business with a shaded rooftop or just don’t want to install and maintain your own solar panels. Community solar gardens in Minnesota must be 1 megawatt or less, which usually covers between 8-10 acres of land. That amount of electricity can power roughly 1,000 homes. Minnesota is home to the nation’s largest community solar garden program — as of August 2020, the state boasted 724 megawatts of solar capacity.