What makes community solar really work? Program design matters, as anyone who has followed the development of Minnesota’s policy over the past decade can attest. So does trust with your future customers.
For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Cooperative Energy Futures’ Outreach Director Kyle Samejima, Outreach Representative Sebastian Rivera, and former Outreach Representative Bryn Shank.
Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the episode.
Manufactured home residents rarely own the land beneath their homes, or don’t have roofs that are suitable for rooftop solar. This combination makes on-site solar ownership nearly impossible for them. But community solar lets people who can’t put panels on their own roofs subscribe to a shared solar array elsewhere and get the guaranteed savings credited straight to their electric bill.
Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) Minnesota-based staff members also explain that community solar, and especially cooperative community solar, creates an opportunity for manufactured home community residents to join an organization that extends the ways they often already share resources and support each other.
“The model is almost built for communities like that.” – Sebastian Rivera
Every manufactured home park is different. That means that CEF intentionally tailors its community solar membership outreach strategies too. In Landfall, an incorporated, resident-run town, CEF worked through the mayor and city council. But in Cimarron, where residents have a strained relationship with an absentee landowner, CEF staff built relationships resident by resident. Many prospective subscribers assume there’s a catch. Rivera says people initially suspect a scam until CEF explains it doesn’t need bank account or credit information.
CEF works to show up often and consistently, bringing food, engaging with and listening to the community. This work mattered even more once militarized immigration enforcement activity heightened anxiety in Twin Cities communities. To address mistrust upfront, CEF staff texted residents ahead of every visit so that no one was caught off guard by an unexpected knock.
“We can go and talk to them safely and introduce this program.” – Sebastian Rivera
When community solar was first rolled out in Minnesota, subscribers received a solar credit on their Xcel bill. But they also received a separate bill from CEF that covered the proportional cost of building, maintaining, and operating the community solar garden.
Now both appear on one bill, which makes it easier for subscribers to recognize how much they save with community solar membership. The consolidated billing shift eases members’ cash-flow stress, simplifies energy-assistance paperwork, and cuts through skepticism during outreach. A fast, one-bill pitch builds trust.
“There truly aren’t drawbacks. There’s no penalty for our program.” – Kyle Samejima
CEF staff have prioritized a few changes they want to see made to Minnesota’s community solar garden regulations. First, they want utilities held accountable for billing errors and delayed garden startups that erode resident trust. Second, they’re pushing for self-attestation of income instead of burdensome paperwork. Third, they want more support for those who need it most; the current 150% AMI eligibility threshold doesn’t actually include enough low-income residents. Lastly, they want better coordination so energy-assistance providers can point people directly to programs like theirs.
See these resources for more behind the story:
This is the 277th episode of Local Energy Rules, an ILSR podcast with Energy Democracy Director John Farrell, which shares stories of communities taking on concentrated power to transform the energy system.
Local Energy Rules is produced by ILSR’s John Farrell and Ingrid Behrsin. Audio engineering by Drew Birschbach. Featured Photo Credit: Cooperative Energy Futures.
For timely updates from the Energy Democracy Initiative, follow John Farrell on Twitter or Bluesky, and subscribe to the Energy Democracy newsletter.
Connecticut's Green Bank made solar on schools simple. Its public financing approach is a model other states can copy.
Inside Alaska's community energy program: subscriber-owned solar for a one-of-a-kind grid.
How household power can solve the energy affordability crisis.
A Minnesota community solar cooperative earns trust and delivers savings in manufactured home parks.