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2 <br /> <br />subscription agreements with five solar garden developers, and a lottery was conducted to allocate <br />subscription capacity to participating local governments. Additional information about the “Community <br />Solar Subscriber Collaborative” is available in the fact sheet attached. <br />Community Solar Gardens operate under Minnesota Statute 216B.1641 and regulatory oversight provided <br />by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Eligible gardens have no less than five subscribers, and no <br />subscriber may account for more than 40% of the garden’s capacity. Eligible subscribers must be retail <br />electric customers of the utility served by the garden, and located in the same or adjacent county as the <br />garden. Additional information and requirements are described in the attached “Frequently Asked <br />Questions” document provided by Xcel Energy. <br /> <br />Round 1 lottery results were announced on January 28, 2016 and local governments were requested to <br />signal their intent to consider subscription opportunities by February 29, 2016. Unclaimed lottery tickets <br />were re-allocated in a second lottery, and results were announced on April 5, 2016. The city of St. <br />Anthony participated in both rounds of the lottery and offered to consider subscription opportunities that <br />do not exceed 1.5 million kilowatt-hours (“kWh”) of annual electricity production, equivalent to <br />approximately 880 kilowatts (“kW”) of solar garden capacity. The city of St. Anthony was offered <br />subscription agreements for a total of 920 kW of capacity distributed across the following three <br />community solar gardens: <br />• 120 kW in a community solar garden to be developed by SolarStone in Wright County <br />• 200 kW in a community solar garden to be developed by USSolar in Carver County <br />• 200 kW in a community solar garden to be developed by USSolar in Wright County <br />• 400 kW in two community solar gardens to be developed by TruNorth Solar in Carver County <br /> <br />Considerations: <br />Community Solar Garden subscription agreements represent 25 year contracts. The city may subscribe up <br />to 120% of the annual electricity consumption of one or more facilities. Once a community solar garden is <br />operational, the city will make monthly payments to the garden operator for its portion of the energy <br />produced. The city will also receive credits on its electricity bill from Xcel Energy for the city’s portion <br />of the energy produced. The utility bill credit may also include a payment for the “renewable energy <br />credits,” which would represent Xcel Energy’s acquisition of, and legal claim to, the solar energy <br />attributes. <br />Subscription rates and bill credits may vary depending on a number of factors. The developer determines <br />the subscription rate. All developers offer a “pay-as-you-go” subscription with no upfront payments <br />required from subscribers for the construction costs of the solar garden. Subscription rates may vary based <br />on the Xcel Energy rate plan of the facility subscribed and may, or may not, include an annual escalation <br />in the rate. Bill credit rates are determined by the Xcel Energy rate plan that applies to each facility and <br />may change annually following review by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Bill credit rates for <br />2015 varied by customer type as follows: <br />• Residential: $0.12743 per kWh <br />• Small General Service: $0.12431 per kWh <br />• General Service: $0.09914 per kWh