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Solar energy accounted for 3.4% of the state’s electricity production in 2022, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. So far, solar energy accounts for 3.86% of the state’s electricity produced in 2023. Solar is the second largest renewable energy source after wind, which produced 24% of all Minnesota’s electricity in 2022.
Altogether, renewable energy, which also includes hydropower, biomass and waste-to-energy, provided 31% of the electricity generated in the state in 2022. Nuclear power provided an additional 24%.
Solar projects in the utility, community and commercial sectors have slowed since 2017, but an increasing number have been installed in homes since 2017.
Solar panels cannot produce energy at night. However, some newer solar energy projects are being designed with batteries to make energy produced during the day available at night.
