Minnesota Power Joins Forces with Military to Build 10-Megawatt Solar Energy Project at Camp Ripley
August 27 2014 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Minnesota Power and the Minnesota National Guard will join
forces to build a major solar energy project at Camp Ripley, the
largest military base in Minnesota.
Duluth-based Minnesota Power, a division of ALLETE, Inc.,
(NYSE:ALE) and the Minnesota National Guard today signed a
memorandum of understanding outlining plans to build a 10-megawatt
utility-scale solar energy array at the central Minnesota camp. The
project will be the largest solar energy installation on military
property in the state. The utility will also identify ways to help
Camp Ripley reduce its energy usage by 30 percent and install
backup generation for energy security.
Minnesota Power has been the energy provider to Camp Ripley,
located near Little Falls, for decades. The 53,000-acre regional
training facility was established in 1856. The solar project
envisioned by Minnesota Power and the Guard, subject to regulatory
approval, would cover nearly 100 acres of underutilized government
property at the Camp with photovoltaic panels on racks.
“To provide cleaner energy forms is the mission, and both
Minnesota Power and our National Guard are on the front lines,”
said ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik. “This project
helps meet our goal of achieving the state’s solar mandate and it
advances our company’s EnergyForward goal of providing a
balanced mix of one-third renewable, one-third coal and one-third
natural gas energy sources reliably and affordably.”
“I’m pleased to work in partnership with the National Guard, to
answer the nation’s call to transform our energy landscape,” Hodnik
added. “This solar project is good for the Little Falls area and
Morrison County and it’s good for Minnesota.” Hodnik said he
expected that Minnesota Power would innovatively and strategically
develop its solar energy portfolio just as it has expanded its
Bison Wind Energy Center into the largest wind farm in North
Dakota. The solar project will also bring employment and new
business into the region, he said.
Minnesota National Guard Maj. Gen. Richard C. Nash said the
Guard and Camp Ripley specifically, have long looked for ways to
increase their environmental stewardship.
“Today’s signing marks a milestone along our path to make that
vision a reality,” Nash said. “The Minnesota National Guard is
committed to working with local partners in the government and the
private sector, like Minnesota Power, to assist us in our pursuit
of sustainable infrastructure.”
The solar farm and backup generation will be designed and
constructed to allow Camp Ripley to use the energy produced by the
project during infrequent periods when the electric grid is down,
providing enhanced energy security for the military site, which
benefits all Minnesotans. At 10 megawatts, it will be among
Minnesota’s largest single-site solar arrays, producing more
electricity than the base normally requires. During non-emergency
operation the solar energy produced would flow into Minnesota
Power’s electric service territory, which encompasses 26,000 square
miles in central and northern Minnesota.
Projected to cost $25 million, the solar energy project could be
completed in the 2015-2016 time frame. Minnesota Power has been
evaluating solar generation projects that will help the company
comply with a solar energy standard enacted in 2013 by the
Minnesota Legislature. The law requires the company to procure 1.5
percent of non-exempt energy from solar resources in a manner
consistent with Minnesota Power’s integrated resource planning
while providing competitive electric rates to customers.
“Completion of the Camp Ripley solar project will help Minnesota
Power achieve about one-third of its requirement under the state’s
new solar mandate,” said Al Rudeck, Vice President Strategy and
Planning. At the same time, the project will help the Minnesota
National Guard meet energy conservation objectives outlined by the
Department of Defense. And Camp Ripley would achieve an energy
security priority by gaining the ability to function completely
independent of the electric grid in emergency situations. The
project will showcase a clean energy partnership between an
innovative public utility and the military.
The National Guard and Minnesota Power will work together to
identify and complete programs that will help Camp Ripley meet its
energy savings goal of 30 percent (beginning with a 2003 baseline).
This spring and summer, Minnesota Power personnel conducted an
energy efficiency evaluation at the camp under the auspices of the
company’s Power of One Conservation Improvement Program. More than
50 different energy conservation measures were recommended.
Part of the memorandum signed today outlines how Minnesota Power
will install reciprocating engines – either diesel or natural gas
-- at Camp Ripley that will serve a dual purpose. First, the
engines would provide capacity and peaking energy to Minnesota
Power, operated through remote dispatch during periods when energy
market conditions call on it. Secondly, this “backup generation”
could provide emergency generation to Camp Ripley.
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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