- Minnesota Power is proposing to exit coal and have a 90 per cent renewable portfolio by 2035.
- The utility said it plans to bring 400 MW of new wind generation online by 2028 and 200 MW of solar through the 119.5 MW Regal and 85 MW Boswell projects.
Minnesota Power is proposing to exit coal and have a 90 per cent renewable portfolio by 2035. That is according to the utility’s proposed 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Monday, February 3.
The plan includes short-term (2025-2030) and long-term (2030-2039) actions to reduce carbon emissions and transition from coal to cleaner energy sources.
In the near term, the utility is proposing to refuel the coal-fired Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 (BEC3) with natural gas by 2030. During this period, Minnesota Power said it would develop a 40 per cent gas refuelling plan for BEC4 to comply with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Section 111(d) carbon regulations.
Minnesota Power said it would also explore the prospects of co-firing biomass as part of the refuelling plan at BEC.
The utility said it plans to bring 400 MW of new wind generation online by 2028 and 200 MW of solar through the 119.5 MW Regal and 85 MW Boswell projects. Both solar projects are expected to be operational by 2029.
The company said it would also bring forward a filing outlining a plan for up to 500 MWh of new energy storage in 2026.
Over the long term (2030-2039), Minnesota Power said it plans to develop 750 MW of combined cycle gas by 2035 for system reliability. The utility said it would then exit coal entirely once the new combined cycle generation is in place.
The utility said it would need to be flexible in response to possible increased demand. This could include increasing wind (2,200 MW), solar (200 MW), and energy storage (300 MW) if load growth requires.