Founded in 2009, Minneapolis-based Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) develops and operates community solar gardens. The organization’s 13 projects across Minnesota, which offset the electricity needs of more than 1,300 member households, also include affordable housing solar projects serving low-and-moderate income renters and homeowners. CEF has launched a Sustainable Homes program that makes energy enhancements accessible to low-income individuals and others facing barriers to energy efficiency and electrification.
CollectiveSun is proud to have partnered with CEF on their latest community solar garden, which came online in October. We connected with Dan Grantier, Solar Development Manager at CEF, to learn more about this project and the organization’s work.
This loan was made possible by the generous participation of the BQuest Foundation.
All images are courtesy of Cooperative Energy Futures.
Please tell us about your organization’s work, programs, and services.
CEF believes that energy should work for everyone. Together with our diverse members, we create fair and affordable energy solutions that eliminate upfront costs, making clean energy accessible to all. We envision a future where every household can join and benefit from the clean energy transition, supporting both economic and environmental sustainability.
With over 1,500 members and growing, CEF has developed a successful model that delivers local economic and environmental benefits across diverse communities and demographics. Our community solar gardens are expanding access to shared solar, empowering Minnesota households to participate in and benefit from clean energy. We also support the growth of community-based energy efforts nationwide.
Who benefits from the programs and services you provide?
Our members, a diverse community across urban, suburban, and rural Minnesota, are at the heart of our clean energy projects.
CEF has a particular focus on economic and racial justice. We work to ensure that all our projects are developed using an economic model that is deeply accessible to members regardless of income or credit and including options available at no upfront cost and net monthly savings, as well as prioritizing workforce equity in the energy industry. CEF uses member participation in our projects to build community wealth and unite and activate members from many different communities around a vision for our energy future that is rooted in community-controlled clean energy.
Tell us about your new solar system
The new system, our 11th community solar garden, is a ground-mount solar array that covers about seven acres. It uses single-axis trackers to follow the sun during the day. The landowner for this project was leasing the acreage for monocropped corn but is excited to convert the land use to solar.
Besides installing solar, we also plant native pollinators and use sheep grazing to manage the vegetation. This has been shown to vastly improve the health of the soil versus continuing to monocrop. In addition, the landowner runs the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center, and the proceeds from leasing the land for solar will help fund the center.
How is your solar system supporting your mission and your community?
Through CEFs’ community solar program, members typically save 10% to 20% on energy costs while supporting renewable energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. As a cooperative, CEF is owned and guided by its members, ensuring the benefits of renewable energy stay in the community.
Community solar works by allowing members to subscribe to a share of the energy produced by a solar garden. In our area, the local utility company, Xcel, is required to pay for the energy generated, and this payment appears as a credit on subscribers’ bills. Part of the credit goes to CEF to cover costs, while the rest lowers subscribers’ monthly payments to Xcel. Savings vary based on subscription size and the garden’s energy production, but state law guarantees that subscribers save money every month.
Please tell us about your experience working on this project with CollectiveSun.
Working with CollectiveSun has been great. As a finance partner, they have made the transactions very simple and straightforward. The due diligence and documentation required was very reasonable, and the folks at CollectiveSun are great to work with.
What would you want people to know about your organization that they might not know?
We would love for folks to know that we are a member-owned cooperative that is working to change how people own, consume, interact with, and benefit from energy generation and consumption.
How would someone get in touch with your organization to learn more about your services?
The best place to start is by visiting our website at https://www.cooperativeenergyfutures.com/contact.
