1. Community Solar Gardens
Jack McCarthy
Asst. Energy Efficiency Coordinator
Macalester College - St. Paul, MN
Jmccart1@macalester.edu
Benefits
•Macalester pays no upfront costs
•No liability for risk or cost increases
•Reduces Macalester’s electricity costs
•Anchor institution status allows smaller
customers to participate
•Reduces GHG emissions of Minnesota Grid
•Could host a CSG at your institution with
financing from the Developer
Project Summary
•Macalester College has entered into a Community Solar Garden(CSG) subscription
agreement with SunEdison for 120% of our Electricity consumption. Upon
completion of the CSG, Macalester will save over 10% per year off of our
electricity bill.
Challenges
•Subscriber cannot claim
ownership
•Does not reduce reported
greenhouse gas emissions
•First-come-first serve
•Savings dependent on subsidies
•Requires state legislation
•Utility pushback to program
implementation
Billing Cycle for a VPPA
(Virtual Power Purchase Agreement)
The CSG subscriber agrees to pay a solar
project developer a fixed rate over a
contracted period of time (25 years for
Macalester).
Subscriber continues to purchase
electricity from a local grid.
The developer sells the CSG’s electricity
and renewable energy certificates (RECs)
to the utility, and credits all proceeds to
the subscriber
Utility Credit — Solar Rate = Cost Savings
Steps to Subscription Agreement
(Student Perspective)
Contact multiple solar developers for
subscription proposals
Research CSG program with articles and
conversations with developers
Educate decision makers about their
options: Comp. sheet & Letter to Admin.
Coordinate meetings between
administration and developer to sign
proposal
Next Steps____________________________
•Due to regulatory delays, construction has been delayed, but project is still
scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016
•Decide how to allocate the savings
•Macalester will still need to find ways to meet its 2025 Carbon Neutrality Goal
• Community Solar Garden (CSG): A solar array owned by multiple local subscribers.
• Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs): Represent the property rights to the
carbon neutrality of renewable electricity generation. Required by institutions to
verify emission reductions via renewable energy.
• Macalester College is a liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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