(UPDATED) Solar Power Slow To Catch On In Linden Hills

Update 8/10/11: At LHiNC's August board meeting, board members announced that all solar grants had been spoken for and plans for finishing construction by the end of November were progressing.

In the land of ice and snow, running a home off of solar energy might not seem like a viable option.

But that's just what about 50 Linden Hills residents are interested in doing, starting this summer.

Thanks to a program from the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council (LHiNC), residents will be eligible this summer for $5,500 grants for solar power and hot water heating systems. Around 50 people have expressed interest in signing up for the program, according to Jeff Stites, a LHiNC board member.

The group has enough money from the Neighborhood Revitalization Program to provide 18 grants for solar power systems, and three grants for solar hot water systems. A lottery was slated to be held this weekend to determine the 21 winners, but Stites said only 10 applications have been submitted so far. A self-described “big fan of solar power,” Stites sounded decidedly disappointed.

“I had expected a little more interest, but it's hard to tell where folks are at,” said Stites. “A lot of things go into that decision.”

A solar power system would cost a homeowner about $3,000 with the grant.

According to Kelley Benyo, owner of the Southwest Minneapolis-based EcoVision Electric, the smallest solar system that could be installed under the LHiNC grant would normally cost a resident $14,000. The 10 Linden Hills residents who applied will be able to subtract the grant, get a rebate from Xcel Energy and one for using solar equipment made in Minnesota, and they'll receive a sizable federal tax credit.

Benyo said most solar power owners even end up getting a check from Xcel during the summer, when their systems feed energy into the grid. Xcel must pay power-producing residents at the same rates it sells power to others.

“It's a real 'no brainer' at this point,” she said, pointing to dramatically reduced labor and materials costs for any solar installation.

Most of EcoVision's solar power customers, she said, are no longer driven by environmentalist beliefs.

“We've gone beyond early adaptors to people who think it makes financial sense,” she said.

One reason for the lack of interest in LHiNC's grant, though, could come from the lush tree cover prized by many area residents. Benyo said any solar installation needs a rooftop that's shade-free between about 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to be effective. 

Stites said he is hopeful that more residents will sign up for the grant in the coming days. The grant program will not close, he said, until the money has been used up.