Regulators Approve Plan to Close Four Minnesota Coal Units
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved Minnesota Power Co.’s integrated resource plan (IRP) on June 9, which calls for the economic idling of the company’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center—a two-unit 150-MW facility (Unit 3 was retired in June 2015)—this fall and ceasing coal operations at the site in 2020. The MPUC also adjusted the retirement of two small coal units (130 MW combined) at Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center from 2024 to “by 2022.”
“The commission’s approval affirms Minnesota Power is on the right path to a cleaner energy future while ensuring customers get the reliable energy they need at a price they can afford,” said Al Hodnik, president, chairman, and CEO of Duluth-based ALLETE Inc., Minnesota Power’s parent company.
As recently as 2005, Minnesota Power obtained about 95% of its generation from coal-fired resources. The nearly 500-page IRP calls for the addition of renewables, such as solar and hydro, and an increase in energy conservation through other company programs. It also calls for the addition of a natural gas-fired plant early in the next decade to meet projected demand. The gas plant is a critical component of the company’s “EnergyForward” strategy to transform its energy supply to one-third renewables, one-third coal, and one-third natural gas.
Minnesota Power has made significant investments in Boswell Units 3 and 4—its largest (about 940 MW combined) and most efficient coal-fired units—reducing mercury, NOx, and SO2 emissions by as much as 90%. The IRP calls for those units to remain core assets and to continue operating beyond 2029.
“EnergyForward is about balancing reliability, affordability and sustainability, and is clearly positioning Minnesota Power to meet the state’s carbon reduction target of 30 percent by 2025. All of these efforts are helping to responsibly answer the nation’s call to transform its energy landscape,” Hodnik said.
During ALLETE’s annual meeting in May, Hodnik said the company ranked 16th in the nation in wind power capacity. As part of IRP actions, Minnesota Power will continue working to increase its renewable portfolio by issuing requests for 100 MW to 300 MW of additional wind energy proposals, solar additions beyond the state requirements (1.5% by 2020), and additional demand-side management resources. It is also developing the 500-kV Great Northern Transmission Line, which is expected to deliver 383 MW of hydropower from Manitoba, Canada, to Minnesota.
“Minnesota Power has made tremendous progress under its EnergyForward plan,” Hodnik noted during the annual meeting. “I am pleased to say the company is well-positioned to reach its 33 percent renewable goal as the Great Northern moves toward construction.”
—Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)