There's no need to practice your "I like long walks on the beach at sunset …" speech. The Solar Speed Dating event in Minneapolis on Saturday isn't that kind of dating.
It's for residents of Hennepin County who want to "speed date" their way through vendors offering shared solar options to Xcel Energy customers.
"People who want to subscribe to a solar garden get so much information from mailers and ads," said Matt Privratsky, senior communications and government affairs specialist at Fresh Energy in St. Paul. "It gets to be a little wonky, so this event is more consumer-focused."
For similar reasons that hundreds of people stood in line at Tesla dealerships across the country on Thursday, the solar event is expected to attract consumers looking for alternatives to fossil fuels.
But the shared solar option poses some challenges for consumers who may find it difficult to put their arms around such an intangible product. Solar vendors aren't selling panels on a person's house or apartment, but rather a subscription to a large, centrally located "solar garden" operated by an independent energy company.
A solar garden's electricity is sold to Xcel Energy, not directly to subscribers. Xcel credits each subscriber's monthly bill for that customer's share of the solar garden output.
Customers make monthly subscription payments to the solar garden operator, but reduce or eliminate their payments to Xcel. According to Clean Energy Research Teams, a University of Minnesota group tracking shared solar, a residential customer now paying Xcel about $75 per month for electricity might pay $60 a month to subscribe to a solar garden. After the solar output is credited to the customer's bill, he or she might pay $10 per month to Xcel, saving about $5 per month. Some vendors promise larger monthly savings of 8 to 10 percent. For a more complete example, go to tinyurl.com/z9vcl2w.
Fresh Energy, a clean energy nonprofit based in St. Paul and a sponsor of the event, will offer two introductory sessions on what to consider when choosing a community solar vendor. Topics will include the types of contracts, pricing variations and early termination penalties.
Solar developers expected to attend include Able Energy Co., Community Energy Solar, Cooperative Energy Futures, Novel Energy Solutions/Minnesota Community Solar, Sundial Solar and SunShare.
Being a solar subscriber is still in the early adopter stage, but solar gardens have a large growth market. "Consumers want to know where their energy is being produced and what their options are," Privratsky said.
Minnesota has one solar garden up and operating in Le Sueur County. Nearly 100 more gardens are in the construction phase, said Dan Thiede, communications manager at Clean Energy Research Teams.
Saturday's free event will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Ramsey County residents can attend a similar event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on April 27 at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul.
For more information, go to www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org or call 612-626-0556.
John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633
