TOWER— A plan to build an approximately five-megawatt solar array near the Tower-Breitung water tower remains in the works even as agreement on the details have taken longer to finalize than originally anticipated.
“We’re trading options with Minnesota Power right now,” said Tim Tomsich, the chair of the Tower-Breitung Waste Water Board, or TBWWB, which owns the land currently slated for development of the project.
The proposal, originally spearheaded by retired Minnesota Power executive Eric Norberg, has since been assumed by Minnesota Power, which is in the process of substantially expanding its solar capacity in order to meet state targets for the transition to carbon-free sources of energy.
At five megawatts it is considered a small project, so it hasn’t been a top priority for Minnesota Power and the company has not responded to information requests from the Timberjay over the past couple years.
But the details should be falling into place soon if the project is to move forward. According to Tomsich, the parties have set July of this year as the deadline to reach agreement on the details. “They intend to do it, but it takes time,” said Tomsich, who spoke to the Timberjay this week.
The project would be built on a largely treeless, south-facing slope that extends to the south and west of the water tower, providing a large and sunny location for solar photovoltaics, which are solar panels that generate electricity. Tomsich said the wastewater board had originally considered a solar array there to help prevent ice buildup in the water tower. While that idea didn’t pan out, the potential of the site for solar power has been known for some time.
The site is also located adjacent to a Minnesota Power substation, located on Junction Rd., which would provide for a convenient interconnection with the power grid.
While a small project by the standards of a large utility, the five-megawatt project would still generate enough energy under full sunlight to power about 3,750 homes. The array could also likely provide for the power needs of the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, and Tomsich said park officials have been interested in possibly partnering in the project to provide for the power needs of the park. “Hopefully, it would generate enough power to run the park,” said Tomsich. “We have to get the lease agreement signed with Minnesota Power, then we can talk with the DNR more seriously.”
If it ultimately moves forward, the project would entail the installation of hundreds of solar panels along with the racking to hold the panels in position on approximately 10-15 acres of the 93-acre site owned by the TBWWB. A preliminary 2022 agreement between Norberg’s group and the TBWWB also held out the possibility of battery storage at the site, along with all the associated metering, inverters, and other equipment. No installation timeline for the project was available as of presstime.