As a municipal utility executive in Austin, Texas, Karl Rábago led a team that came up with the very first value-of-solar tariff, an alternative to net-metering that aims to pay utility customers a rate for solar power that reflects its actual value to the grid and society.

Today, as an independent consultant, Rábago is the concept’s chief evangelist. He’s been hired by the Minnesota Department of Commerce to participate in a series of stakeholder workshops that will help the state set the rules for how value-of-solar tariffs should be calculated in Minnesota.

Here is a transcript of a conversation we had with Rábago last week, edited some for clarity and conciseness.

read more via Q&A: Karl Rábago, grandfather of the value-of-solar tariff | Midwest Energy News.