Minnesota
Net metering in Minnesota, provider by provider.
Every provider in the state, and every figure below read from the published tariff or interconnection document rather than a comparison site. Some credit you the full retail rate for the power you send back. Most do not, and that difference is the whole reason this page exists.
Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41727 kilowatt hours. A 712 kilowatt hour month against 911 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 199 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $124.74 to $0.00 at 17.52 cents per kilowatt hour.
Minnesota average household use, 712 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 17.52¢ per kWh. Your utility still bills a fixed monthly customer charge that no system offsets, so this is the energy part of the bill, which is the part that goes away.
Solar buyback rates in Minnesota, utility by utility
Under 40 kW, a customer may elect to be paid for net input at the average retail utility energy rate, which each utility prints in its tariff. Co-op and municipal customers may instead take kilowatt hour credits, which cancel at the end of the calendar year. Systems of 40 kW to 1 MW at the public utilities may bank kilowatt hours through the calendar year and are paid for the surplus at the applicable rate.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
- Xcel EnergyInvestor owned/1.3M accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus paid at 11.4 to 12.0 cents under 40 kW
- Minnesota PowerInvestor owned/150K accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus credited at 13.75 cents under 40 kW
- Otter Tail PowerInvestor owned/65K accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus paid at 9.264 cents under 40 kW
- Great River Energy cooperatives700K accountsAsk for the rateSet by each member co-op under the statute
Minnesota net metering rules
Average retail energy rate up to 40 kW.
- Who it binds
- Utilities under Minn. Stat. § 216B.164, which reaches beyond the investor owned companies to the cooperatives and municipal systems, though terms above 40 kW differ.
- What happens to a surplus
- Usage nets inside the month; what is left is paid or credited at the average retail energy rate, or banked where the utility offers it.
- How big a system you may build
- The average retail energy rate option applies under 40 kW. Systems of 40 kW to 1 MW at the public utilities are paid an avoided-cost rate instead.
Minn. Stat. § 216B.164 — checked 2026-10-03
What actually happens after you pick
Most sites in this business hand your number to a sales team and disappear. We do the preparation first, so the company that turns up already knows your situation.
You see your real terms
Your provider page shows what that specific utility credits you, when it trues up, and where the catch is. Sourced and dated, not a sales page.
You choose the company
Companies serving your territory in Minnesota, with the reviews, years trading and BBB grade we found for each. You pick. Not a call center, not an auction.
We set the whole thing up
We call you, go through your bill and your last twelve months of use, work out what your utility owes you, and get the program paperwork in order.
They arrive prepared
The company you chose turns up to a job that is already understood, with your figures in hand. No cold pitch on your doorstep.
Solar installers in Minnesota
Every company we list for at least one Minnesota utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Minnesota: the questions people ask
- Does Minnesota have net metering?
- Under 40 kW, a customer may elect to be paid for net input at the average retail utility energy rate, which each utility prints in its tariff. Co-op and municipal customers may instead take kilowatt hour credits, which cancel at the end of the calendar year. Systems of 40 kW to 1 MW at the public utilities may bank kilowatt hours through the calendar year and are paid for the surplus at the applicable rate.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Minnesota?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 4 providers we list in Minnesota credit the power you export: 4 at the retail rate, with a condition. Each one’s own page gives its figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in Minnesota in 2026?
- It depends mostly on what your utility pays for the power you export, because the 30% federal credit ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025. Minnesota homes use about 712 kWh a month at an average of 17.52 cents per kWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Where exports are credited at the full retail rate, each kilowatt hour your panels send back is worth about that much; where they are credited below retail, size the system to what you use while the sun is up. Check your own utility on this page before you get a quote for solar panels.
- Is there a solar tax credit in Minnesota in 2026?
- Not a federal one. The 30% federal credit, IRC Section 25D, ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025, and a deposit paid in 2025 does not preserve it. Anyone still quoting it is working from an old script. Any incentive left in Minnesota comes from the state or your utility, and what your utility pays for exported power is now most of the financial case.
- Which providers does the Minnesota rule cover?
- Utilities under Minn. Stat. § 216B.164, which reaches beyond the investor owned companies to the cooperatives and municipal systems, though terms above 40 kW differ.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Minnesota?
- Usage nets inside the month; what is left is paid or credited at the average retail energy rate, or banked where the utility offers it. Co-op and municipal customers who choose kilowatt hour credits lose any left at the end of the calendar year. At the public utilities, a 40 kW to 1 MW system’s bank is paid for at the applicable rate once the calendar year ends.
- How big a solar system can you install in Minnesota?
- The average retail energy rate option applies under 40 kW. Systems of 40 kW to 1 MW at the public utilities are paid an avoided-cost rate instead.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Minnesota?
- We have read the published terms of 4 providers in Minnesota: Xcel Energy, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power, Great River Energy cooperatives. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: Minn. Stat. § 216B.164, checked 2026-10-03.
Not sure which one you are on?
It is the name at the top of your bill. Find it on the schedule and we will show you what it pays.
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