United States
Environmental Protection
k Agency
xvEPA
State Incentives for Achieving Clean and Renewable
Energy Development on Contaminated Lands
The development of clean and renewable energy on formerly used land offers many economic and environmental benefits. Combining clean and
Minnesota!
projects. This document provides information about incentives in your state that can be leveraged for clean and renewable energy and development of contaminated land.
Incentives for Clean and Renewable Energy
Funding (grants, loans, bonds, etc.)
Solar-Electric (Photovoltaic, or PV) Rebate Program
www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/Solar_Electric_Rebate_Program_110
802025911_Rebatelnstructions.pdf
Provides a rebate of $2 - $2.25 per watt, per grid-connected PV system up
to 10 kW capacity. Larger systems may also be eligible.
Great River Energy (GRE) - Solar-Electric Rebate Program
www.greatriverenergy.com/environment/gre_solar_fact_sheet.pdf
Offers a rebate of $2,000 per kW for new grid-connected PV systems (up
to $4,000 per customer); must be combined with the state rebate program.
While all funding under this program has been reserved for existing
applicants, applications are still being accepted.
Minnesota Power - Power Grant Program
www. mnpower. com/powergrant/grants. htm
Offers rebates of up to $50,000 to non-residential customers who use
innovative technologies or undertake renewable electric energy projects.
Xcel Energy- Renewable Development Fund Grants
www. xcelenergy. com/rdf/
Provides grants up to $2 million for renewable energy production projects.
Agricultural Improvement Loan Program
www. mda. state.mn. us/grants/loans/improvement. htm
Provides low-interest loans (currently 5.5%) of up to $200,000 for the
installation of farm-based wind-energy systems with a maximum capacity
of 1 MW. The borrower must be a Minnesota resident, a Minnesota
domestic family farm corporation, or a family farm partnership.
Methane Digester Loan Program
www. mda. state.mn. us/grants/loans/digester. htm
Provides up to $250,000 in zero interest loans to install digesters to convert
manure to electricity on farms.
Rural Wind Energy Revolving Loan
www. swifoundation. org/renewableenergyloanprog. html#stateloanfund
Provides loans of up to $100,000 per project with a maximum annual
interest rate of 1.5%, for wind energy feasibility and transmission
interconnection studies for community-based energy developments.
Renewable Energy Production Incentive
www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/tabsrch.cfm?state=MN&type=Production&back=fi
ntab&Sector=S&CurrentPagelD=7&EE=1&RE=1
Offers payment of 1.0 cent to 1.5 cents per kWh for electricity generated by
hydro facilities and on-farm anaerobic manure methane digesters.
Renewable Energy Loan Program
www. swifoundation. org/renewableenergyloanprog. html
Provides loans to cover up to 25% of project costs, with a limit of $500,000,
for business ventures that support energy production, the renewable
energy industry, or new and emerging renewable energy technologies.
Tax Incentives (abatements, deductions, credits, etc.)
Wind and Solar Sales and Property Tax Exemptions
www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/common/content/include/contentitem.jsp?contentid=5
36885915
Exempts solar and wind energy systems from state sales tax. Property tax
exemption excludes the value added by PV systems from real estate
property taxation, and all wind-energy system real and personal property.
A small production tax was implemented in lieu of a property tax as follows:
less than12 MW: 0.12 cents/kWh; 2-12 MW: 0.036 cents/kWh; 0.25-2 MW:
0.012 cents/kWh; and less than 0.25 MW: exempt.
Net Metering
www.puc. state, mn. us/
Allows net metering for solar, wind, and biomass systems less than 40 kW.
Quick Facts
Public Benefit Fund (PBF) Yes 0 No D
Renewable Portfolio Standard Yes 0 No D
Xcel Energy: 30% by 2020; Other utilities: 25% by 2025
Net Metering Yes 0 No D
Interconnection Standards Yes 0 No D
Electric Power Industry Generation by
Primary Energy Source (EIA, 2006)
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Coal
Other
0.9%
4.8%
62.1%
0.6%
Nuclear
Hydroelectric
Other Renewables
24.8%
1.1%
5.7%
Points of Contact
Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Information Center
Solar-Electric (PV) Rebate Program, Wind and Solar Sales and Property Tax
Exemptions, Net Metering
Stacy Miller, stacy.miller@state.mn.us, (651) 296-5175
GRE - Solar-Electric Rebate Program
Mark Rathbun, mrathbun@grenergy.com, (763) 445-6104
Minnesota Power- Power Grant Program
Dean Talbott, dtalbott@mn.power.com, (218) 355-2843
Xcel Energy - Renewable Development Fund Grants
Debra J. Paulson, debra.j.paulson@xcelenergy.com, (612) 330-7571
Agricultural Improvement Loan Program, Methane Digester Loan Program
Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Rural Finance Authority
Gary Blahosky, Gary.Blahosky@state.mn.us, (651) 201-6666
Rural Wind Energy Revolving Loan, Renewable Energy Production Incentive
Minnesota Department of Commerce, Energy Division
Jeremy deFiebre, jeremy.defiebre@state.mn.us, (651) 297-1221
Renewable Energy Loan Program, Southwest Initiative Foundation
Josh Gehlen, loans@swifoundation.org, (800) 594-9480
Information current as of November 2008; please refer to www.dsireusa.org and the state Web sites
provided, or contact the points of contact identified above for more up to date information.
Minnesota Incentives for Clean and Renewable Energy - Page '
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Incentives for Development of Contaminated Land
Funding (grants, loans, bonds, etc.)
Minnesota Contamination Cleanup and Investigation
Grant Program
www. deed, state.mn. us/Community/contam/index. htm
Provides grants for up to 75% of the cost of the investigation and cleanup
of contaminated sites for redevelopment. Investigation grants cannot
exceed $50,000.
Minnesota Cleanup Revolving Loan Program
www.deed.state.mn.us/community/cleanup/
Provides low-interest loans through an EPA grant for cleanup, demolition of
buildings, implementation of a remedial action plan, and cleanup-related
site sampling and monitoring.
Minnesota Redevelopment Grant Program
www.deed.state.mn.us/community/redevgrt/
Offers grants of up to 50% of redevelopment costs for a qualifying site for
land acquisition, demolition, infrastructure improvements, soil stabilization,
environmental infrastructure, and remedial activities.
Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan Program
www.pca.state.mn.us/programs/sbombjoan.html
Provides low-interest loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses for
financing environmental projects associated with the investigation and
cleanup of contaminated sites.
Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund
www.hennepin.us/portal/site/HCInternet/menuitem.3f94db53874f9b6f68ce
1e10b1466498/?vgnextoid=dcd4c95fa29fc010VgnVCM1000000K)94689R
CRD&vgnextfmt=default
Provides grants of up to $800,000 for the assessment and cleanup of
contaminated sites located within Hennepin County, which includes the
Minneapolis metropolitan area.
Agricultural Chemical Response and Reimbursement Account
(ACRRA)
www.mda.state.mn.us/incidentresponse/default.htm#agvic
Reimburses up to $279,200 for the cleanup of sites contaminated by
agricultural chemical spills.
Dry Cleaner Reimbursement Fund
www.pca.state.mn.us/cleanup/dryclean.html
Reimburses qualifying current or former owners and operators for cleanup
costs in excess of $10,000 at dry cleaning facilities.
Tax Incentives (abatements, credits, deductions, etc.)
Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
www.house.mn/hrd/issinfo/tifmain.htm
Allows all of the property tax on a formerly contaminated site, not just its
increased value, to be used for TIF. Contact your local government for
availability.
Technical Assistance and Other Incentives
Minnesota Brownfields: A Resource Guide
http://proteus.pca.state.mn.us/publications/reports/brownfields-guide.pdf
Summarizes financial and technical assistance to support the cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields in Minnesota.
Limitations on Liability
Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) Program
www.pca.state.mn.us/cleanup/vic.html
Provides Superfund liability assurance including No Further Action letters
to Certificates of Completion through the Voluntary Investigation and
Cleanup Program; similar liability assurances for sites contaminated with
agricultural chemicals through the Department of Agriculture; and liability
release letters for petroleum-related contamination through the Voluntary
Petroleum Investigation and Cleanup Program.
Quick Facts
Limitations on Liability Yes 0 No D
Number of State-Tracked Contaminated Properties: 5,513
Includes sites listed as Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) sites
Number of EPA CERCLIS Sites: 79
Sites identified for potential investigation under the federal Superfund Program
Number of EPA Brownfields Properties: 549
Properties being funded or addressed under the EPA Brownfields Program
There may be some overlap among the categories listed and sites listed may not
represent all potentially contaminated sites in Minnesota
Points of Contact
Minnesota Contamination Cleanup Grant Program, Minnesota
Cleanup Revolving Loan Program, Minnesota Redevelopment Grant
Program, Kristin Lukes, kristin.lukes@state.mn.us, (651) 259-7449
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota Brownfields: A Resource Guide, VIC Program
Limitations of Liability, Barbara Jackson, (651) 757-2459
Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan Program
Mike Nelson, (651)297-8615
Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund
Hennepin County Environmental Services, Dave Jaeger, (612) 348-5714
ACRRA, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Carol Logan, Carol.Logan@state.mn.us, (651) 201-6490
Dry Cleaner Reimbursement Fund
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Karen Kromar, (651) 297-1796
TIF, Minnesota Department of Revenue, (651) 296-3475
Information current as of November 2008; please refer to
www.epa.gov/brownfields/pubs/st_res_prog_report.htm and the state Web sites provided,
or contact the points of contact identified above for more up to date information.
Minnesota Incentives for Development of Contaminated Land - Page 2
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