Waverly considers 30-acre, 25-year lease for community solar project with 5-10% savings

Waverly officials are weighing a proposal to lease roughly 30 acres for a 25-year community solar project that could reduce local electricity costs and give the city long-term price certainty. The proposal names a private developer and describes a subscription model that would let residents and businesses share locally sited solar generation.

Public-facing materials and advocacy coverage identify two different names linked to the proposal. A Journal-Courier item cited New Energy Equity as the potential lease counterparty, while coverage from Clean Energy Resource Teams refers to a project called Sunshare Waverly and describes Sunshare’s role as project operator and partner with regional customers. That discrepancy has not been resolved; Waverly officials and the companies named have been asked to clarify who will sign the lease and run the project.

The Sunshare Waverly description includes five co-located community solar gardens, each limited by state law to 1 megawatt. Five gardens at 1 megawatt apiece imply a combined 5 megawatt configuration if sited together, but the relationship between the stated 30 acres and the five gardens has not been formally documented in public filings. Regulators imposed a limit last year of five co-located gardens per developer at any one site, and Minnesota law caps each garden at 1 megawatt. The community solar statute also requires at least five subscribers per garden and bars any single customer from contracting for more than 40 percent of a garden’s output.

Clean Energy Resource Teams reported that subscriber demand was strong, describing the Waverly effort as likely the first fully subscribed project of its kind with co-located gardens. Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association spokesman David Shaffer said, “It’s great news to hear that there’s such high demand for community solar gardens in our state,” and “What you’re really seeing is that there’s a lot of people who want to be part of community solar.”

Waverly’s municipal government is listed as a subscriber that will offset 100 percent of its electric energy use and expects to realize $300,000 to $400,000 in savings over the 25-year contract. Mayor Connie Holmes described the response and the budgetary implications, saying, “I think it’s fabulous, I’m really excited,” and “They sold it much more quickly than I thought they might. It shows that’s there great growth in solar energy and it’s very exciting for our residents.” Holmes added, “That’s really a big savings,” and “One of the other advantages I see is that we’ll know how much we’ll be paying for power over the next 25 years.” Waverly’s population is about 1,300 residents.

Project materials indicate a subscriber mix of roughly 80 percent residential and 20 percent commercial and governmental. Bongards dairy cooperative is named as a significant anchor tenant and partner; a company representative identified only by the surname Bowers declined to disclose subscriber identities beyond the city and Bongards. A social media post circulated locally adding a potential savings estimate for typical subscribers, stating, “Waverly may lease 30 acres to New Energy Equity for a community solar project that could cut electric bills 5%- 10% under a 25-year deal.” That percentage has not been confirmed by utility filings or developer contracts.

For residents, the key issues are developer identity, the final lease terms for the 30-acre site, verified subscriber savings and the timetable for construction and subscription enrollment. Waverly officials have been asked for council minutes, lease proposals and the subscription agreements that will govern who can join and how bill credits will flow. What comes next is formal confirmation of the lease counterparty, public release of contract terms and a council vote or public hearing that will set the contract, timeline and enrollment process for residents and businesses.