As ever more renewable energy is added to the electric grid, utilities continue to preserve one of electricity’s most important qualities: reliability. Large conventional power plants that have shut down in recent years are often replaced with new generators, such as wind turbines and solar panels, that can produce electricity at a lower cost. But […]
$882 million wind development nearly completes cooperative’s plans for renewable transition. With long-term agreements to purchase the output from four large wind energy projects, Great River Energy has secured energy resources to transition to a largely renewable power supply portfolio by 2023. Great River Energy has signed agreements with subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources to […]
Agreement will add 200 megawatts of renewable capacity to cooperative’s portfolio Great River Energy has signed a power purchase agreement for 200 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from a project in Deuel County, South Dakota. Through an agreement with Invenergy, a Midwest-based developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, Great River Energy will supply its […]
During a recent conference hosted by a North Dakota energy group, Great River Energy President and Chief Executive Officer David Saggau detailed the economic reasons behind Great River Energy’s decision to shut down its Coal Creek Station power plant. Saggau informed the membership of the Lignite Energy Council about plans to shut down the Underwood, […]
Great River Energy was recently presented with a Leadership and Innovation Award by a Cooperative Electric Utility by Clean Grid Alliance (CGA). CGA noted Great River Energy’s “track record of success,” including “clean energy and carbon reduction, adopting renewables, electrification, leading on building new transmission through the CapX2020 initiative, working on long-duration energy storage, service […]
Connexus Energy, one of Great River Energy’s 28 member-owner cooperatives, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on its 3-megawatt solar project in Baldwin Township, Minnesota. Those involved with the building and permitting of Sunflower I – Baldwin Renewable Station, attended the ceremony, including representatives from Connexus Energy, Baldwin Township, City […]
Midwest energy market maintains sufficient resources for reliability A persistent, record-breaking heat wave hit California in August, causing the state’s three biggest utilities to cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses for about an hour at a time until the emergency declaration ended a few hours later. These rolling blackouts—the first California […]
The Elk River Energy Recovery Station was shut down March 15, 2019, following years of economic challenges. Great River Energy is decommissioning and demolishing the plant in a responsible manner that will safeguard the local environment while also assuring the safety and security of employees and the local community. Crews have spent much of the […]
With the help of Dakota Electric Association and Great River Energy, a local data center is powered entirely by renewable energy. DataBank, a leading provider of enterprise-class colocation, connectivity and managed services, announced the milestone was achieved at MSP2, a data center located in Eagan, Minnesota. DataBank entered into an agreement with utility provider Dakota […]
Wind farms produce electricity when it’s breezy. Solar panels generate energy during the day. Low-cost, long-duration storage has the potential to serve cooperative members when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. A Great River Energy pilot project has the potential to solve the challenges posed by the variable nature of the most […]