Installation of community solar gardens is steadily increasing across Minnesota, from Zumbrota to Duluth. Rows of solar panels, known as solar arrays, are placed on rooftops or in large fields to generate electricity. The panels convert sunlight into electricity that is sent to the grid and distributed to utility customers.
Solar gardens are owned and operated by developers such as Cooperative Energy Futures and PureSky Energy. The electricity they generate is fed into the electrical grid for general use.
Xcel Energy currently has the most solar gardens across the state.
Subscribing to a solar garden works much like buying a share in a community-supported agriculture program, or CSA. But instead of receiving vegetables, subscribers receive a credit on their energy bill.
Eden Prairie resident Joanna Takes subscribed to PureSky Energy in 2022 after learning about the opportunity from a friend. She pays a monthly fee to PureSky Energy for her share of the solar energy produced. She then receives a credit on her Xcel Energy bill.
Takes calculated that during the first six months of 2026, she paid Xcel Energy a total of $222.14. Her lowest bill so far this year was $11.02 in May.
Subscription amounts vary each month depending on the amount of energy the garden produces. Over the past year, Takes said the most she paid PureSky Energy was $65.02 in October 2025, and the lowest amount was $10.70 in March. She paid a total of $399.06 for her subscription in 2025.
In 2025, she paid Xcel Energy a total of $140.41 for a home that is mostly electric with some gas appliances.
Janet Janzen, the marketing and communications manager for PureSky Energy, said the process to become a subscriber is straightforward.
Janzen said certain areas may have a waitlist, but PureSky typically has more openings during the summer. Subscribers can take their subscriptions with them if they move within the service area or cancel at no cost if they move outside it.
Of PureSky Energy’s 679 Minnesota subscribers, 649 are residential subscribers. Renters, homeowners and business owners are eligible as long as the electric bill is in their name.
In Eden Prairie, rooftop solar gardens were installed at Eden Prairie Community Center and Pax Christi Church in 2022. Subscriptions for these gardens, managed by Cooperative Energy Futures, sold out quickly.
Residents like Takes subscribe to solar gardens because community solar allows them to support clean energy without installing panels at home. Not all homes are ideal for solar panels, and some homeowners don’t want the added expense of installing roof panels.
People who rent, live in an apartment or have too much shade may not be able to install solar panels, but they can subscribe to a community solar garden to receive bill credits and support solar energy.
Editor’s note: Joanna Takes, whose experience with community solar is featured in this story, is the managing editor of Eden Prairie Local News.
Editor’s note: This story is the latest in an ongoing series called “Sustainability in Action.” The series spotlights sustainability efforts in Eden Prairie at various levels, from local government and businesses to community groups and residents. It includes a page dedicated to local, state and national sustainability resources. This series has received support from a grant from the Eden Prairie Community Foundation.
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