Minnesota Power's "Hometown Hydropower" System Rededicated to Service at Annual Meeting of Shareholders
May 13 2014 - 1:55PM
Business Wire
Minnesota Power’s iconic Thomson Hydro Station will soon resume
its more than a century old mission of generating emission-free
energy, ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik said today at
the company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Once federal regulators grant approval, flowing water from the
St. Louis River will again rotate electric turbines at the state’s
largest hydroelectric facility. Thomson, operated by ALLETE utility
division Minnesota Power, sustained major damage after floodwaters
roared down the St. Louis River about 20 miles upstream from Duluth
nearly two years ago.
“To celebrate the resurrection of this historic facility and to
highlight our significant investment in Minnesota hometown
hydropower, we are today re-dedicating to public service Minnesota
Power’s entire hydro system,” Hodnik said. He noted enhancements
and improvements to several other company hydro stations and
associated reservoirs and recreational areas in northern
Minnesota.
About 10 inches of rain fell in the St. Louis watershed during a
24-hour period beginning June 19, 2012, swamping the six Thomson
turbines, overtopping Thomson Reservoir and breaching a portion of
an earthen dike at the forebay, a shallow reservoir that feeds
water into the generating station. After reconstruction of its
embankment and installation of a new spillway, the repaired forebay
will soon be refilled.
Working in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, which licenses the Thomson station, Minnesota Power and
its contractors have worked on the 22-month project, planning and
rebuilding the forebay, cleaning, repairing and refurbishing the
powerhouse and its six turbine-generator sets, and repairing or
replacing flow lines, penstocks and valves.
Minnesota Power hydro engineers anticipate that one of six
Thomson turbines will begin generating renewable energy again early
this summer. All six are expected to be operating by year’s
end.
The reconstruction and improvements at Thomson, estimated to
cost about $90 million, include refurbishment of the substation and
replacement of much of the electrical infrastructure, cleanup of
the turbines, which were underwater for several weeks,
refurbishment of the massive pipes that deliver water from the
forebay to the plant and the replacement and repair of valves.
Beyond the Thomson flood recovery work, Minnesota Power also has
invested in upgrading and reconstructing other hydro facilities on
the system.
A new, more efficient turbine was installed at the Fond du Lac
facility downstream from Thomson, and a penstock was replaced at
that facility, built in 1923. This turbine work, which was underway
when the 2012 flood occurred, was financed in part with a
Department of Energy stimulus grant of $800,000.
Additionally, Minnesota Power’s Prairie River hydro station,
destroyed by fire in 2008, was rebuilt and put back into operation
in the spring of 2013. In the fall of 2013, the company
celebrated the centennial of its Sylvan Hydro station in the
western area of Minnesota Power’s service territory. In 2005 the
company replaced the penstocks at its Winton hydro facility, and
extensive work was also done to rebuild the Birch Lake Dam,
Minnesota Power’s last wooden structure. There were also
improvements made to recreational facilities, at Island Lake and
elsewhere across the hydro system.
A series of rededication events designed to celebrate the
company’s “Hometown Hydropower” will be held in communities near
hydro facilities around northern Minnesota this summer. The
initiative also includes a new website, www.mphydro.com, featuring
the history of Minnesota Power’s hydro system and recent
investments.
Hodnik’s announcement of the hydro rededication meshed with one
major theme of his annual meeting speech – the accomplishments of
Minnesota Power’s EnergyForward resource strategy.
“I’m proud of what we’ve already accomplished with
EnergyForward,” he told about 800 shareholders at the Duluth
Entertainment Convention Center this morning. “By the end of this
year we will have essentially met the 25 percent by 2025 renewable
energy standard set by our state. And we are on track to meeting
the carbon objective targets set in Minnesota. With
EnergyForward we are reducing carbon, protecting human
health and bringing environmentally compliant and socially
responsive energy solutions to the real world.”
In other business from the ALLETE Annual Meeting, shareholders
voting by proxy passed resolutions to elect 10 directors and to
approve an advisory resolution on executive compensation. Retiring
lead director Bruce Stender received praise and thanks from Hodnik
for his 20 years of service to the board. Heidi Jimmerson will
succeed Stender as lead director.
In his speech, Hodnik also focused on the enduring natural
resources-based economy in Northeastern Minnesota. He cited PolyMet
Mining, awaiting final permits, and Essar Steel Minnesota, which
recently secured additional construction financing, as two
ambitious projects that will continue mining’s long legacy on the
Mesabi Iron Range.
Minnesota Power provides electric service within a
26,000-square-mile area in northeastern Minnesota, supporting
comfort, security and quality of life for 143,000 customers, 16
municipalities and some of the largest industrial customers in the
United States. More information can be found at
www.mnpower.com.
The statements contained in this release and statements that
ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results
may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in
documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Minnesota Power/ALLETEAmy Rutledge, 218-723-7400Manager -
Corporate Communicationsarutledge@mnpower.com
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