Minnesota Power gets approval for its 15-year Integrated Resource Plan
Minnesota Power, a utility division of ALLETE Inc., got approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for its 15-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
The IRP is essentially the company’s roadmap for its EnergyForward vision to provide 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2050 while maintaining safe, reliable, and affordable electric service.
Minnesota Power’s IRP lays out plans to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2035 and achieve more than 70 percent renewable energy in 2030. It calls for the addition of up to 400 megawatts of wind energy and 300 megawatts of regional solar energy. That is almost twice the amount proposed in its initial Integrated Resource Plan filing in February 2021. The IRP also includes a significant investment in energy storage to support the expansion of renewables.
“In early 2021, Minnesota Power set forth its vision for a carbon-free energy supply by 2050, and today’s decision by the Commission 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,” ALLETE Chair, President and CEO Bethany Owen said. “Bringing all of these important stakeholders together has been a hallmark of Minnesota Power’s extensive process and is critical to a truly just transition that leaves no one behind.”
The IRP also lays out a plan to cease coal operations at the company’s Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 by 2030 and Boswell Unit 4 by 2035.
The extensive planning process involved discussions with customers and stakeholders over the past two years. The power company reached a joint agreement last week with stakeholders that included clean energy organizations, labor groups, and the city of Cohasset and Itasca County, which are host communities to the company’s last remaining coal-fired power plant. The commission approved all of the elements of the joint agreement.
“Our planning for a sustainable transformation has incorporated feedback from many diverse voices while recognizing the rapid changes of an energy industry in transformation. 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,” Minnesota Power Chief Operating Josh Skelton said.
Minnesota Power provides electric service for 145,000 customers in northeastern Minnesota.
