REGIONAL— Minnesota Power will be producing 70 percent of its electricity from carbon free sources within just eight years and will be producing electricity from 100 percent carbon-free sources by 2050, while providing continued reliability and affordability.
That’s according to the company’s final integrated resource plan, or IRP, which the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved late last week. All investor-owned utilities in the state are required to submit an IRP periodically to outline how the company plans to meet the energy needs of its customers over the next 15 years, making it a useful tool for state regulators.
Under the latest plan, the company proposes to reduce its carbon emissions dramatically, by increasing its power production from wind by 400 megawatts (MW) and its production from solar photovoltaic panels by 300 MW. That’s nearly double the amount from these sources that the company had proposed in its initial IRP filing in February 2021. At the time, the company had proposed 200 MW from wind and 200 MW from solar. The company also plans make a significant investment in energy storage capacity, to take greater advantage of its renewable power sources, which tend to be intermittent.
Incentives contained within newly-passed federal laws will be helping to accelerate Minnesota Power’s transition to carbon-free production. “We will leverage the opportunities now available with the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that support lowering the cost of renewables and maintaining competitive rates for our customers,” said Josh Skelton, Minnesota Power’s chief operating officer.
The plan also calls for the company to cease coal operations at the company’s Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 by 2030 and Unit 4 by 2035.
According to a Minnesota Power press statement, the company has engaged a number of stakeholders during the development of the plan and that it reached a joint agreement earlier this month with advocates of clean energy, labor unions, the city of Cohasset and Itasca County, which are hosts to the Boswell facilities. The MPUC approved all elements of the joint agreement.
Company CEO Bethany Owen hailed the agreement and the MPUC’s approval of the plan. “In early 2021, Minnesota Power set forth its visions for a carbon-free energy supply by 2050, and today’s decision by the [MPUC] affirmed Minnesota Power’s state-leading efforts to shape a clean-energy future that benefits our customers, our communities, and the climate, while ensuring time to transition our employees,” she said.
The now-approved IRP is all part of Minnesota Power’s EnergyForward vision under which the company has been transitioning to the production of power from renewable sources in order to combat climate change. Minnesota Power is a division of ALLETE Inc.