Minnesota Solar Pathways: Opportunities for widespread solar development in Minnesota
What portends for Minnesota’s solar industry as solar generation becomes a significant part of Minnesota’s energy portfolio? Do we face a “duck curve” future? Can storage and demand-side management create a predictable solar generation profile? How do electric vehicles fit in to an advanced solar future?
The Minnesota Solar Pathways project’s first year findings shed light on these questions and others about meeting Minnesota’s 10% by 2030 solar goal. Stacy and Brian will introduce the project’s next phase, which will take a more comprehensive look at value propositions and deployment opportunities in Minnesota’s distinct geographic and market areas.
About the Presenters:
Stacy Miller is the Solar Policy Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
At the Division of Energy Resources she offers solar policy support and administers various solar programs for the state including the Minnesota Solar Pathways: Illuminating pathways to 10% solar initiative. Stacy was the 2017 recipient of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association’s Ralph Jacobson Lifetime Achievement Award. She began her renewable energy career with the University of Toledo in 1995—one of the leading thin film photovoltaic research institutions in the country.
Stacy Miller
Solar Policy Specialist, Clean Energy Technologies
Brian Ross
Senior Program Director
Brian has 30 years of experience working on clean energy, from local government policy and regulation, to state policy and rules including energy utility regulation. Brian currently leads the Great Plains Institute’s solar energy market transformation efforts across the Midwest and nationally, and local and regional technical assistance programs to implement sustainable practices for clean and resilient energy development and climate protection.
Brian currently manages the stakeholder engagement process and facilitates the technical committee for the MN Solar Pathways project, a 3-year initiative to model and evaluate solar deployment strategies to meet Minnesota’s statutory 10%-by-2030 solar target. In the distant past, Brian worked extensively in energy and utility regulation, serving as an expert witness in cost of service and rate design, energy efficiency and renewables, fuel cost reconciliations, and integrated resource planning.