DOE Awards $50 Million to Minnesota Power to Increase Reliability and Resilience of Region’s Transmission Grid in Support of a Clean-Energy Future
18 Octubre 2023 - 1:34PM
Business Wire
The U.S. Department of Energy today awarded a $50 million grant
to Minnesota Power to modernize its high-voltage direct current
(HVDC) transmission system so it is ready to expand to meet future
energy needs while increasing the reliability and resilience of the
regional grid.
Minnesota Power, an operating division of ALLETE (NYSE: ALE),
was selected in a competitive process from among hundreds of
applicants nationwide to receive the grant for its HVDC Terminal
Expansion Capability Project from the Grid Resilience and
Innovation Partnerships Program, part of the federal Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law.
“Investments in transmission are critical to the reliability and
resiliency of the grid as we continue to build a carbon-free energy
future and advance Minnesota Power’s EnergyForward strategy,” said
Bethany Owen, ALLETE CEO. “This federal grant will help reduce
costs to customers for upgrades to Minnesota Power’s strategically
located HVDC transmission system, support federal and state energy
policy goals—including Minnesota’s recently passed carbon-free by
2040 legislation—and help prepare the regional grid for the
efficient transfer of more energy from a variety of generation
sources.”
Minnesota Power will use the funding to prepare its HVDC system
for future expansion by including certain additional design
features in its current plan for replacing aging infrastructure and
modernizing the terminal stations of its 465-mile transmission line
that runs from Center, North Dakota, to Hermantown, Minnesota.
Commissioned in 1977, the HVDC transmission system has served
Minnesota Power well in its more than four decades of operation.
Minnesota Power acquired the HVDC line in 2009 to reliably deliver
nearly 500 megawatts of wind energy from its North Dakota wind
sites to its customers in Minnesota.
Minnesota Power’s HVDC transmission line is one of only a
handful of existing long-distance HVDC lines in the country. HVDC
lines transmit electricity more efficiently over long distances
than alternating current (AC) lines and more strongly link together
disparate parts of the electrical grid. Specialized stations, like
the ones proposed for this project, convert the HVDC power to AC so
it can flow on the existing electric grid.
On June 1, Minnesota Power filed a Certificate of Need and Route
Permit with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to replace
converter facilities at the Arrowhead Substation in Hermantown with
new buildings and electrical infrastructure near the existing
terminal. Similar upgrades are planned for the converter facilities
at the Square Butte East Substation in Center, North Dakota.
“Timing of the DOE grant is ideal for investing in a larger,
expandable design of the terminal stations to better support the
long-term needs of the regional grid, improve reliability and
resiliency, and reduce transmission congestion,” said Minnesota
Power Chief Operating Officer Josh Skelton. “Utilizing our existing
infrastructure in combination with the DOE funding will help
mitigate rate impacts on our customers as we modernize our grid for
the clean energy transition.”
Minnesota Power is actively seeking other federal and state
funding to help keep impacts on rates as affordable as possible,
both for this project and other projects that will support the
clean-energy transition. In May, $15 million in state funding was
secured as part of the energy and climate budget bill passed by the
Minnesota Legislature.
A recent study by the Brattle Group and DNV affirmed the need
for investing in HVDC transmission as an integral part of a
reliable, clean-energy future. The study noted that HVDC technology
is well-suited to address the growing needs of an aging grid but
that the U.S. trails the rest of the world in deploying valuable
HVDC solutions.
DOE news release:
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-35-billion-largest-ever-investment-americas-electric
DOE project fact sheet:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/DOE-GRIP-Allete-Inc.pdf
Minnesota Power provides electric service within a
26,000-square-mile area in northeastern Minnesota, supporting
comfort, security and quality of life for 150,000 customers, 14
municipalities and some of the largest industrial customers in the
United States. More information can be found at
www.mnpower.com.
ALE-CORP
The statements contained in this release and statements that
ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results
may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in
documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231018616263/en/
Amy Rutledge Director - Corporate Communications Minnesota
Power/ALLETE 218-723-7400 arutledge@mnpower.com
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