Building not your average dream home: Solar

In an earlier article, I covered all things energy consumption and efficiency, but in this article, the focus is on energy production. As soon as the utility connected the electricity at the end of January 2025, I started the process of going solar. As the house build proceeded, I searched for a local solar installer, evaluated PV system size, and considered including a battery for backup to keep the well and septic running in the event of a blackout – especially from storms.

In Minnesota, there are several programs incentivizing residential solar. Net Metering, which luckily was not overturned during the Minnesota 2025 spring legislature session, is compensated at $0.14251 per kWh. On top of NEM, Xcel offers a solar rewards program which is an additional $0.03 performance incentive per kWh (based on DC not AC) for systems 20 kW DC or less. An additional parameter of this program is that the PV system can not generate more than 120% of the consumer’s historical electricity use, or for new builds, there is a square footage calculation (see below). And despite some earlier rumors of the 30% ITC for residential solar (25D) ending the day of the OBBB passing, I will be able to take advantage of it through the end of this year.

After evaluating a number of quotes from installers and the incentive programs, I decided to proceed with a quote from Energy Concepts for a 32-panel 13.44 kWdc/11.4kW ac PV system with an EV charger and forward compatibility with a battery. This meant I would forego the solar rewards program, as I would have been limited to a 5.69 kW system size. Per the estimations, the PV system will produce 17 MWh annually in its first year, taking into account a 7% snow shading, 39-degree tilt, and 180-degree azimuth.

However, once I decided on the PV system in early February, there were still a significant amount of logistics, paperwork, and waiting until I could proceed with the installation. During which time it felt like at every turn, there was a bump in the road:

Xcel’s portal did not recognize my address and the installer needed to reach out to the ombudsperson for help to get the application process started when there was no response from the utility for a few weeks
Once an application number was assigned thanks to the ombudsperson, Xcel had until March 18 to perform an initial review
Xcel’s initial review cited a hosting over capacity and noted that additional analysis was required

In the beginning of April, the installer, myself, and three Xcel representatives had a customer options meeting. During the one-hour meeting, Xcel further explained that the amount of solar production on the feeder by my home exceed the minimum daytime load.

Following the meeting, Xcel initiated the supplemental review, which could take until June 3^rd to complete. This review has a fee of $200, which Xcel waived. This waiting period was particularly stressful as it overlapped with the Minnesota legislature session in which there was a bill to overturn NEM (which Xcel supported) and the US congress was deciding on how quickly to kill 25D.
Towards the end of May, Xcel’s engineers completed all the studies for interconnection and approved my application.
In the beginning of June, Xcel updated all meters in the area to smart meters.
Finally in early August, the PV system was installed in about 3-5 days – a full 6 months after initially signing the contract.
Additionally, there was an electrical review in mid-August and an inspection from the town due to a regressive zoning ordinance that requires all solar arrays and panels to be positioned to prevent glare or reflective sunlight that could cause permanent eye damage to neighboring properties or structures.

While the PV approval steps occurred, the interior and exterior of the house quickly progressed and completed. I was able to move in to the house in spring, and on move in day a severe storm occurred that caused a power outage – making me rethink my decision to delay battery backup. But, fortunately, power was quickly restored.

Shortly after move in, I began planting on the land and working on soil restoration. On Memorial Day weekend, I broadcast by hand a nitrogen-fixing diverse seed mix, nicknamed “everything but the kitchen sink” on about two acres of the land where I am planning on growing food. While on a different on-acre section, I planted a pollinator mix. On the land directly surrounding the house, I planted a no mow, low grow clover seed mix that also acts as a bee habitat. Plus, I planted a variety of trees, including multiple evergreens, crab apples, and edible fruit trees, such as apple, pear, cherry, and plum. While inside the home, I installed large planters for growing food year-round.

To validate the success of building a sustainable home, my builder, Justin Riddle of Paltrin, had a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score calculated. HERS scoring was developed by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and is a nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance. A HERS score of zero indicates a net zero home. Without solar, my home received a score of 25, which is considered a very strong score, and is tied for second place in the state for homes without solar.

And now with the solar officially interconnected the week before RE+, the HERS score is now -32 as it produces significantly more electricity onsite than it consumes. This scoring helped to confirm that I was able to build my dream home, even if it is “not your average dream home.”

Jessica Fishman is a strategic marketing leader with nearly 20 years of experience, including seven years as head of global public and media relations at inverter maker SolarEdge. Passionate about addressing climate change by accelerating the clean energy transition, she has worked at leading renewables companies, building marketing and communications departments.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.

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