Solar

We create electricity from coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar, and wind facilities. We also purchase electricity from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, energy market when buying it is more economical than generating it ourselves. This mix ensures reliable, low-cost, and increasingly clean electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How solar panels work

Our solar facilities

Abercrombie Solar

Abercrombie Solar is a 295-megawatt solar generation facility we plan to build in Abercrombie Township, North Dakota. It’s currently known as the Flickertail Solar Project and is under development by Flickertail Solar, LLC.

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Hoot Lake Solar

Hoot Lake Solar is our 49-megawatt (MW) solar generation facility in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. After years of planning and 16 months of construction, Hoot Lake Solar became fully operational in 2023.

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Solway Solar

Solway Solar is a solar generation facility we plan to build on land we own in Lammers Township, Minnesota. It’s our second large-scale solar investment, modeled closely after Hoot Lake Solar.

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Small-scale solar

In 2020 our first two small-scale solar facilities, Blue Heron Solar near Ottertail, Minnesota and Blue Jay Solar in Jamestown, North Dakota, began generating electricity. 

We added 15 additional facilities on our property or on interested customer property through partnerships. These projects showcase the potential for solar energy throughout our Minnesota service area and help us meet the state’s small-scale solar energy objectives. 

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Resource Location Partner
Karlstad Solar

Karlstad, MN

Viking Solar

Viking, MN

Brooks Solar

Brooks, MN

Crookston Solar

Crookston, MN

Red Lake Falls Solar

Red Lake Falls, MN

Beaver Solar

Bemidji, MN

Bemidji State University
NTC Solar

Bemidji, MN

Northwest Technical College
Sanford Solar

Bemidji, MN

Sanford Medical Center
Callaway Solar

Callaway, MN

Brunswick Solar

New York Mills, MN

Lund Boats
Taplin Gorge Solar

Fergus Falls, MN

Edgetown Solar

Fergus Falls, MN

Wall Lake Solar

Underwood, MN

Dalton Solar

Dalton, MN

Appleton Solar

Appleton, MN

Solar programs

To help meet the 10% carveout in the Minnesota Solar Energy Standard, we offer our Publicly Owned Property Solar program to Minnesota customers. This program offers cash incentives to publicly owned facilities that install qualifying solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

State incentives, special rates, and tax credits are available for qualifying solar installations connected to our power grid. And if you don’t consume all of the solar energy you produce, we’ll credit the excess generation on your bill through our Net Metering Rate. If your solar PV system capacity is less than 40 kilowatts (kW), we purchase excess generation at retail rates. If your solar PV system capacity is greater than 40 kW, we purchase excess generation at our avoided cost.