Minnesota on track to debut 400th solar-powered school by end of 2026, more than doubling 2022 total

Minnesota is on track to have more than 400 solar-powered schools by the end of the year, more than doubling the number it had when the state's Solar for Schools program began in 2022, state officials said.

Leaders with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and School District 622 marked the milestone Thursday morning at Justice Alan Page Elementary in Maplewood, one of the solar-powered schools. State leaders said in 2022 that Minnesota had about 190 solar-powered schools. The department says Minnesota now ranks seventh in the nation.

Solar for Schools is a grant program approaching its fifth year. Its goal is to promote solar energy at Minnesota schools and use it in classroom lessons. The department says the program has awarded more than $32 million in grants, which it says is roughly enough to meet the average annual needs of 3,100 homes.

Superintendent Christine Tucci Osorio said the solar array at Page Elementary saves the school $22,000 annually. She said the district also added a solar mini unit to its fourth grade science curriculum at all of its elementary schools.

Leaders at the event also pointed to $46 million in electricity savings over 20 years for schools across the state.

Lissa Pawlisch, an assistant commissioner with the Department of Commerce, said seeing those savings can encourage other schools to go solar on their own.

"Folks can see the operational savings," Pawlisch said. "They see how it works, they see the exposure and then can think about making that their own investment in their systems so it doesn't just require grant funding."

Solar isn't the only program helping the district. Tucci Osorio said District 622 received more than $1.2 million through a Commerce Department grant program for electric school buses. The buses are quiet and don't need gas, and she said the district expects maintenance on them to be half as costly as on a regular bus.

Leaders said the program's 200th grant will be awarded at the start of 2027.