Dive Brief:

• As part of a process for revamping Minnesota's net metering framework, the state Department of Commerce has developed a formula to determine the “value of solar.”
• Instead of traditional net metering, solar owners could buy their electricity from their local utility and sell power back at a rate determined by the value of solar formula, which aims to include various societal values for solar energy.
• The value of solar formula includes avoided fuel, transmission and generation costs, among other items. In an example, the Minnesota Department of Commerce pegged the value of solar at 13.5 cents/kWh, a 0.9 cent increase over a previous example of the tariff.

Dive Insight:

In a law passed last year, Minnesota requires its utilities to get 1.5% of their power from solar resources by 2020, on top of their renewable portfolio standard targets. The law also required the state, with stakeholder input, to develop a value of solar formula like one crafted by Austin Energy.

Minnesota's efforts come as states like Arizona and Colorado are investigating the costs and benefits of rooftop solar to make sure net metering policies are set up fairly.