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DANUBE — The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will consider whether or not to take up a complaint by Larry Rauenhorst against the Renville-Sibley Cooperative Power Association over a solar array built to allow crops to grow underneath the panels.
At issue is the state’s net metering law and whether the cooperative is required to compensate Rauenhorst at the average retail price for electricity produced by the array.
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The PUC is scheduled to hear the dispute at its meeting on Thursday, May 21. The commission will decide whether it has jurisdiction over the complaint and grounds to investigate it, and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to do so, according to a PUC brief.
Larry and his brother Rolly Rauenhorst installed 10 towers holding solar panels capable of producing 37 kilowatts of electricity in a farm field Larry owns in Renville County. They are working with the University of Minnesota to examine the feasibility of solar generation in farm operations.
The solar-generated electricity would charge an electric tractor and other equipment, but Rauenhorst wants to sell the vast majority of the power to the cooperative based in Danube.
The cooperative said it would not pay the retail rate for the electricity. Doing so would increase costs for its 1,564 members, it stated.
The cooperative offered to resolve the dispute through mediation. It argued that a system installed in a farm field does not meet the spirit of the net metering law. The majority of the power is not intended to power an existing house, farm or business that would exist regardless of the presence of renewable energy, it stated.
Rauenhorst argues that the state’s net metering law is clear. He believe the law allows solar and wind generators under 40 kilowatts to sell power to the utility serving their location. The cooperative is obligated to pay the retail rate for the electricity.
In the complaint, he charges that the cooperative is violating state service standards and practices by refusing to pay at the retail rate.
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Cooperatives are generally exempt from PUC regulation if they have elected governance boards and have a dispute resolution process in place.
In this case, Rauehorst argues that the PUC has jurisdiction because it has the authority to enforce state laws mandating fair service standards and practices.
Renewable energy groups, including CLEAR Energy, the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, and CURE, filed briefs with the PUC in support of Rauenhorst. The Minnesota Rural Electric Association filed a brief in support of the cooperative.
Larry Rauenhorst recently also submitted an offer to settle the dispute. He offered to drop any claims if the cooperative agrees to compensate him at the average retail rate.
Or, he also offered to engage in mediation, provided the cooperative agrees that if it does not result in a settlement, he can ask the district court to decide the merits of the dispute, including whether he is entitled to the retail rate.
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