New community solar garden in Owatonna breaks ground with goal of reducing homeowner energy bills
With energy prices putting pressure on families, one Minnesota company is utilizing the power of the sun to help ease the pain.
Ground broke Monday outside Owatonna on one of four new community solar garden projects planned across Minnesota as part of the recently-renamed Melissa Hortman Community Solar Program.
Minnesota-based Enterprise Energy says the 30-acre project will include roughly 15,000 solar panels and generate enough electricity to help power about 1,000 homes. Company leaders say subscribers could save between 8% and 15% on their monthly electric bills.
The Owatonna project is one of four community solar gardens currently under development by Minnesota-based companies. Two additional projects are planned in Sartell, while another is planned in Kasota.
The projects are designed to serve low and moderate-income households through Minnesota's community solar program, which was modernized in 2023. Customers within Xcel Energy territory can subscribe to the solar gardens without installing solar panels on their own homes.
Enterprise Energy CEO Eric Pasi said rising energy costs are one reason community solar projects are gaining attention.
"Right now we're in an affordability, energy affordability crisis. And once this project is up and running, there is no fuel cost. The sun is free," said Pasi.
Pasi also emphasized that the projects are being developed using Minnesota companies, Minnesota financing and American-made materials.
The program now carries the legacy of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who helped pass Minnesota's Solar Energy Jobs Act in 2013.
Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association Executive Director Logan O'Grady called Hortman "the original visionary" of Minnesota's community solar garden program.
"She passed the Solar Energy Jobs Act in 2013 and the community solar garden program was a portion of that bill," O'Grady said. "It really was her vision to bring solar quickly to all Minnesotans."
Developers also say the sites will include pollinator-friendly habitats and native prairie grasses planted beneath and around the solar panels.
O'Grady said many community solar projects across Minnesota now use pollinator seed mixes designed to support bees and other wildlife while maintaining the land underneath the arrays.
The Owatonna solar garden is expected to begin operating later this fall.