Dive Brief:
- The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last week unanimously approved plans for a 500-KV transmission line designed to bring hydro power from Manitoba to Minnesota Power customers in the northeastern portion of the state.
- Minnesota Power says it needs the new transmission line to deliver at least 383 MW of energy to customers by June 2020, under power purchase agreements with Manitoba Hydro.
- The transmission line will also allow Manitoba Hydro's facilities to act as a battery for wind generation, the utility said. The 220-mile project could cost up to about $700 million, with Minnesota Power expected to hold a majority ownership stake.
Dive Insight:
State regulators have issued a certificate of need for Minnesota Power's 500-kV Great Northern Transmission Line, a key approval in development of the project which was proposed three years ago.
The 220-mile line will cost between $560 million and $710 million to construct, and is needed to bring hydro power down from Manitoba. The project calls for construction of the line in Minnesota from the U.S.-Canada border to Minnesota Power’s Blackberry Substation near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
“The Great Northern Transmission Line is a signature component of Minnesota Power’s EnergyFoward strategy to reduce carbon emissions and assure continued reliability and affordable rates while diversifying its energy portfolio to a one-third renewable, one-third coal and one-third natural gas energy mix,” Dave McMillan, Minnesota Power executive vice president, said in a statement.
FERC approved the line in January. The project will be constructed in partnership with Manitoba, but Minnesota will hold majority ownership. The line is expected to be in service by summer 2020, in order to enable power purchase agreement for almost 400 MW of hydro power.
McMillan said that “as policymakers continue to move forward with aggressive calls for carbon reduction, this line and associated energy supply agreements provide us with flexibility that will benefit our customers, the region, the state and the country.”
The power purchase agreements with Manitoba Hydro are unique, the company said, featuring components allowing the utility to store energy it produces at its Bison Wind Energy Center in south-central North Dakota though a pumped hydro storage system.
Minnesota Power "will be able to deliver electric energy from its Bison wind installation to Manitoba Hydro when wind production is high and demand on Minnesota Power’s electric system is low," the company said. "In this way, Manitoba Hydro’s system will act as a 'battery' for energy produced from Minnesota Power’s North Dakota wind farm."