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((A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONFOUNDED BY THE IDEA OF INSTALLING • SOLAR ON THE HOME, AND THIS MAKES IT VERY SIMPLE.)) Matt Christian, who with his wife, Amber, invested in community -owned solar panels to power their Maple Grove townhouse Photos by BRUCE BISPING • bbisping @startribune.com Rod Nikula, left, vice president of power supply for Wright - Hennepin Cooperative Electric, and CEO Mark Vogt at the co -op's building in Rockford, Minn. Crowd - funding for solar power • The community -owned solar array planned by a power cooperative northwest of the Twin Cities has sold all of the ownership units and plans to begin construction soon By DAVID SHAFFER • dshaffer@startribunecom So you like the idea of generating power from the sun, but don't want a dozen solar panels bolted to your house's roof? For the first time in Minnesota, an elec- tric power cooperative is offering its custom- ers an alternative — investing in a communi- ty-owned solar -power array, and getting cred- it for the output on their utility bills. 'A lot of people are confounded by the idea of installing solar on the home, and this makes it very simple," said Matt Christian, who with his wife, Amber, purchased 15 solar panels on the array, enough to supply most of the power for their Maple Grove townhouse. The project is a joint effort of Wright - Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association, a utility serving 46,000 customers north- west of the Twin Cities, and Clean Energy Collaborative, a company based in Boulder, Colo., that has built similar projects in Colo- rado and New Mexico. The ground -level solar array, with 171 to- tal panels, will be located behind the utility's headquarters in Rockford, 30 miles northwest of the Twin Cities. Its electricity will go on the power grid but be credited to owners' electric bills. Only Wright - Hennepin customers were eligible. Rod Nikula, vice president of power sup- ply for the co -op, said that all 171 ownership units — one for each panel — had been sold as of this week, raising $148,600. Construction Solar continues on D2 Silent Power will store solar - generated electricity from the Wright - Hennepin array and put it on the grid hours later, using batteries and con- trol panels• like these, which are housed in Rockford,