Community solar garden breaks ground in Owatonna to lower electric bills

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A new solar facility broke ground in Steele County Monday, with project partners saying it will reduce costs for some households.

Located near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, the community solar garden is designed to lower electric bills for low- and moderate-income households within Xcel Energy’s service area by 8-15% each month.

The project is a public-private venture made up of the following organizations:

• Enterprise Energy as the solar developer and operator.
• Cedar Creek Energy as the construction partner.
• Minnwest Bank, Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA) and Sunrise Bank as finance partners.
• Native Sun Community Power Development as the workforce development partner.

The CEO of Enterprise Energy, Eric Pasi told KTTC the savings a household could expect to see on its electricity bill ranges from $8-$20 each month. At least 55% of the solar subscriptions are reserved for low- and moderate-income households. Both homeowners and renters qualify to participate.

“We’re providing opportunity for people to subscribe to these projects where they either can’t put solar on their own roofs,” Pasi said, “So they can subscribe to our project and on a monthly basis they receive bill credits as if those panels were on their own roof.”

The Owatonna project is one of four community solar gardens being constructed in Minnesota. Additional gardens are being built in Sartell and Kasota.

The gardens are part of the newly renamed Melissa Hortman Community Solar Program. The program was named in honor of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated in June 2025 with her husband Mark. Authorities said it was politically motivated.

The Owatonna solar garden is expected to be operational by October.

Find stories like this and more, in our apps.