10.d ADDITION_Scandia City Council XE Response
414 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55401
November 18, 2022
Scandia City Council
14727 209th St. N.
Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Dear City Council Members,
Thank you for your October 19 letter regarding residential solar projects in
Scandia.
As you are aware, the electric distribution system in Scandia – specifically at the
SCA substation and SCA021 feeder – has reached capacity primarily due to the
large number of community solar gardens in the area. We support rooftop and
other residential solar projects – they do indeed play a role in the clean energy
transition. In Scandia and other communities around the state , solar gardens
have effectively displaced residential solar projects by using all available
capacity. For this reason, in the case of Scandia, the distribution system is
unable to host even small projects without significant upgrades.
The statewide process governing distribution interconnections requires
individual reviews of each project wishing to interconnect. We recognize that
process is frustrating for our customers, like your residents, who want to add
solar on their own properties.
Two substations serve customers in Scandia: Scandia (SCA) and Hugo (HUG).
Enclosed please find a map illustrating the general areas in Scandia served by
each substation feeder. (Please note that as a standard practice, Xcel Energy
does not provide detailed feeder maps due to cybersecurity and physical
security concerns.) The SCA substation has one feeder, SCA021, and serves
approximately 3,000 total residential customers in the area, including roughly
1,500 in Scandia. SCA021 hosts approximately 15.4 megawatts of solar, with
community solar gardens making up 15 megawatts of that amount. SCA has no
capacity remaining. As of August, there are 14 applications “on hold” in the
interconnection queue. To move forward, these applicants would need to cover
the costs of the system upgrades required to support their project.
The HUG substation’s HUG321 feeder serves approximately 5,500 residential
customers in the area, including roughly 825 in Scandia. HUG321 hosts
approximately 20.4 megawatts of solar, 19 megawatts of which is community
solar gardens. The HUG321 feeder does have available solar hosting capacity,
with no projects currently in the interconnection queue.
Developers and any interested parties can always access interconnection
queue and hosting capacity information on our website at
https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/renewable/developers/interconnection .
Please know we are committed to easing obstacles to interconnection wherever
possible. To that end, we are evaluating potential creative solutions which we
will share with you as details become clearer. We greatly value our partnership
with the City of Scandia and commit to keeping you updated on our progress
and finding ways we can work together.
In the meantime, should you have any question please don’t hesitate to contact
our Manager of Community Relations Mike Wilhelmi at 651-779-3105 or via
email at Michael.S.Wilhelmi@xcelenergy.com.
Sincerely,
John Marshall
Regional Vice President, Community Relations
Xcel Energy
cc: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission