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City hears grant option to cover up to 70% of public-building solar projects
Summary
State program offers up to 70% grant funding for municipal solar arrays (limit 40 kW per project) and requires an elective-pay (direct pay) application to capture the additional 30% federal tax credit; council gave consensus to pursue applications for Valley Tech Park, the fire hall and other municipal sites, and staff will prepare a grant package.
City staff and outside presenters told the Crookston City Council that a new Minnesota grant aimed at public buildings could cover up to 70% of the cost of a solar array, with an additional potential 30% in value accessed via federal direct-pay (elective pay). Pete, a presenter with the Clean Energy Resource Team, said a 40 kW array would typically cost on the order of $120,000 and could produce roughly 5,000 kilowatt‑hours per year — “so not a ginormous cut in your finances, but a nice savings,” he said.
Presenters said the state program is first-come, first-served through Nov. 14 or until funds are exhausted, and that applicants must apply for federal direct pay to capture the full tax-credit value. Anna, a program representative, said site suitability varies by utility: Red Lake Electric can interconnect solar at the arena and has indicated willingness to work with the city; Otter Tail Power runs the fire hall and offers a separate publicly owned property (POP) program that can cover up to 50% of costs and be stacked with the state grant.
The council discussed potential project sites — Valley Tech Park, the fire hall and the arena — and asked staff to proceed with site assessments and to prepare a grant package for council review. Pete and Anna described the procurement options: select an installer through a local RFP, obtain three competitive bids, or use a state master contract with prequalified vendors; installers commonly complete production estimates required by the application.
Why it matters: the program offers a rare near-term chance to materially reduce up-front costs for municipal solar projects and could lower energy bills for city facilities if applications are successful.
What’s next: staff will work with local vendor Dan Jewell of SolarBank on site assessments and prepare the application materials; council asked for a grant package in time for the September 2 deadline for internal review and to move the item to the full council agenda.
