Grid congestion caps Minnesotan's rooftop solar ambitions FRANK JOSSIE of Energy News Network May 6, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail NORTHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — The explosive growth of community solar projects to meet demand from Twin Cities customers is curtailing clean energy options in a southern Minnesota college town. Northfield, about 40 miles south of Minneapolis, is home to Carleton and St. Olaf colleges and around 20,000 residents, whose strong interest in clean energy is reflected in a solar adoption rate three times the state average. The city passed a climate action plan in 2019 that calls for eliminating carbon emissions by 2040, in part through the expansion of rooftop solar.