Solar at MPUC

Solar Celebration

On October 30, 2022, MPUC held a Solar Celebration to mark the installation of the new solar array. The following is an update shared on the project.

Did you see the solar panels on our roof today?

They weren’t there two weeks ago! That’s amazingly fast!

But actually, this day has been a long time coming. Folks here started in earnest in 2013 to figure out if MPUC could install solar panels. But there were stumbling blocks – like cost, and complicated and changing state and federal incentives, and researching Minnesota-made panels, and finding an investor, and myriad other details.

But some among you were especially avid proponents of solar energy, and you persisted over the years in looking for solar opportunities. So now, 9 years after those first efforts, we have a solar installation. This could not have happened without a perfect convergence of opportunities provided by Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light and a local investor, Lake Street Solar, and hard work by many people here at Mac Plymouth United Chruch.

A special thank you to the members of the Solar Advisory Team appointed by the Session in June: Mark Dickinson, Alan Richardson, Michael Florey, Dale Thompson, Don Christensen, Judy Helgen, and Gail Morrison.  We extend our extra special gratitude to Gail, the coordinator of the Creation Justice Committee, who guided the Solar Advisory Team through the process that led us to this moment. Like the sun, Gail worked day after day, from light until dark, with unfailing energy, to bring this project to completion.

In a nutshell, here's how it will work:

·      The investor, Lake Street Solar, bought a solar array suited for our needs and installed it on our roof. 

·      When the system is operational, we will buy the electricity generated on our roof from Lake Street Solar, for which we will pay a discounted price. 

·      Lake Street Solar will receive our payments for electricity; it will also receive the solar tax credit and depreciation deductions and any incentive payments from Xcel.

·      We have a 20-year contract, but the tax benefits to Lake Street Solar will be fully used in 7 years, so, after 7 years, we can terminate the contract by buying the solar installation from Lake Street Solar for a modest price ($8,582). 

Here's a quick summary:  MPUC will pay nothing up front for the solar installation. For the next 7 years, we will be buying clean electricity from Lake Street Solar at a discounted price. Starting 7 years from now, after we have bought the solar installation, the clean electricity we get from our solar panels will be free.  

But here’s a little reality check: We currently use gas (for the most part), not electricity, to heat the building and to heat water. Replacing our gas boilers and water heaters with cleaner electric units will entail considerable expense and will have to wait for another day. When that day comes, we hope to be able to expand our solar array to provide the additional electricity needed in our building, or we could use clean Windsource electricity from Xcel. In the meantime, Xcel Energy plans to reduce its carbon emissions for electricity generation by 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Any electricity we need to buy from Xcel in the future will gradually be getting cleaner.

We are thrilled to have a solar array on our roof. It communicates publicly our commitment to care for creation. With solar panels on our roof, we are no longer hiding our light under a bushel.