The Minnesota Department of Commerce seeks application proposals for the Minnesota Statewide Solar on Public Buildings grant program.

In 2023 the Minnesota Legislature established the Solar on Public Buildings (SPB) grant program (Minn. Stat. § 216C.377) to provide grants to stimulate installation of solar energy systems on or adjacent to public buildings. The Commerce Department will administer $14.5M in grants to local governments and Tribal Nations, statewide, in any utility service territory.

This is the first statewide round of Solar on Public Buildings funding requests.

Eligible applicants for this grant are local units of government owning and operating public buildings. This includes a county, city, town, or other local government jurisdiction, federally recognized Indian Tribes in Minnesota, excluding school districts eligible to receive financial assistance under the Solar for Schools program (Minn. Stat. § 216C.375) (Minn. Stat. § 216C.377, subd. 1).

Grants will be awarded for 70% of the project costs for a solar array built on or adjacent to a public building and is the lesser of 40kW system capacity or 120% of the building’s annual energy consumption. Selected proposals are required to file for the 48E Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit via Direct Pay for project costs not covered by the MN Commerce/SPB grant.