Solar Guide for Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative Customers

If you're a Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative customer considering solar energy, you're making a smart financial decision. With residential electricity rates averaging 17.58 cents per kWh, solar panels can dramatically reduce or even eliminate your monthly electric bill. The typical Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative customer spends approximately $141 per month on electricity — money that could be working for you instead of going to the utility.

Minnesota service area

Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative has a full retail rate net metering policy. This is one of the best net metering structures available — you receive full retail rate credits of 17.58¢/kWh for every excess kilowatt-hour your solar system sends to the grid. This means your solar panels generate maximum value, as surplus energy produced during sunny afternoons offsets your evening and nighttime consumption at the same rate.

An 8kW solar system for a Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative customer costs approximately $23,040 before the 30% federal Investment Tax Credit. After the ITC, your net cost drops to about $16,128. This system produces enough clean energy to save you approximately $1,833 per year, resulting in a payback period of roughly 8.3 years.

After your system pays for itself, you'll enjoy 15+ years of dramatically reduced electricity costs. Over a 25-year period, total savings for Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative customers are estimated at $45,825 — and that's without accounting for the likely 2-3% annual increase in electricity rates that would make your savings even greater.