Investigating the Potential Demand for Distributed Rooftop Solar
In Progress
Challenge
Minnesota’s electric utilities have only 16 years to fully transition to carbon-free energy, due to the passage of the state’s 100 percent clean energy legislation passed in 2023. Yet, solar capacity from commercial sources was only about 150 of the 1,500 megawatts of total solar capacity in Minnesota in 2022.
Impact Goal
Estimate the conditions – including ROI, payback period and policy incentives – necessary to incentivize commercial property owners in Duluth to install distributed rooftop solar. This research will inform potential action from the City of Duluth and Minnesota Power.
Funding
Partner Organization(s)
Project Lead
Director, Bureau of Business and Economic Research
Rooftop Solar as a Climate Strategy
The Regional Indicators Initiative estimated that heating and powering commercial buildings was the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in many cities including Duluth, Rochester, St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Minnesota Power, Duluth’s electric utility, has a current integrated resource plan that calls for a dramatic increase in the company’s investment in renewable energy, including adding 300 megawatts of regional solar energy by 2030. For context, the company's current solar capacity is about 30 megawatts, suggesting that in the next eight years, the company intends to increase its solar capacity tenfold.
Creating partnerships between commercial property owners and Minnesota Power through installing distributed solar arrays on commercial building rooftops could be an important piece of the company’s strategy. To this end, this project team intends to assess the economic feasibility of commercial rooftop solar adoption in northeastern Minnesota by identifying key barriers and financial preferences among property owners.
Project Goals
- Identify the barriers and economic preferences of commercial property owners (e.g., ROI, willingness to pay) as they relate to commercial rooftop solar installations
- Determine whether renters in commercial buildings consider renewable energy production as a factor in determining their business’s location and their total willingness to pay on rental expenses (i.e. rent plus utilities)
- Evaluate the rooftop solar potential for individual property owners using a combination of energy consumption/benchmarking data, survey responses and a solar suitability assessment
Meet the Project Team
Project Lead
Monica Haynes
Director, Bureau of Business and Economic Research
Labovitz School of Business and Economics
Additional Team Members
Project Status
Last Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Impact Location
Duluth
Start Date
Expected Completion
Jun 30, 2027