FOR MINNESOTA POWER: WIND BY WIRE

Minnesota has a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) requiring the state’s utilities to obtain 25% of their power from New Energy sources by 2025. Minnesota Power, like the other of the state’s utilities, sees wind as the best way to meet that requirement. And Minnesota Power knows it will need something besides turbines to meet it, which is why Minnesota Power just bought a big transmission line to deliver North Dakota wind to its home state.

The Dakotas are frequently described as having enough wind to power the entire U.S. if there were enough turbines to collect it and enough transmission to deliver it.

When the transmission being purchased was originally built, it was to deliver coal plant generated electricity and was dubbed “coal by wire” but that was another era. It will now be called “wind by wire.”

Clearly, there is a huge shift in the balance of power taking place in the Midwest.

Don Shippar, CEO, Minnesota Power parent company ALLETE: “This multi-year project responds to the increasing value of renewable energy and the growing concern about carbon emissions…Our geographical position allows us to use this DC transmission line for a new purpose -- moving renewable energy to serve our customers.”

click to enlarge

Minnesota Power Announces Long Term Project to Accelerate Wind Energy and Cut Back Carbon
May 13, 2008 (Minnesota Power via Business Wire)

WHO
Minnesota Power, an ALLETE Company (Don Shippar, CEO); Square Butte Electric Cooperative and affiliate Minnkota Power Cooperative (David Loer, President/CEO)

North Dakota: The Saudi Arabia of wind. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Minnesota Power has purchased a major transmission line running from North Dakota to Minnesota, will phase out a long-term contract for coal and will build wind installations.

WHEN
- The DC line being purchased by Minnesota Power was built 3 decades ago.
- The transmission purchase will be official in early 2009.
- Minnesota Power will phase out its use of coal in favor of wind over the next several years.

The Minnesota Power service area: Delivering wind from the Great Plains to the Iron Range. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
The “wind by wire” will run from the North Dakota plains to Hermantown, Minnesota.
Minnesota Power has been delivering coal-generated electricity from North Dakota to its home state but will now phase out the coal commitment and deliver wind-generated power to Minnesota’s Red River Valley.

WHY
- The purchase price from Square Butte Electric Cooperative for the DC transmission is $80 million.
- Direct current (DC) is a more cost-effective way to transmit power over distance than alternating current (AC), the kind of electricity that comes out of house wall sockets.

Minnesota Power got the message. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Don Shippar, CEO, ALLETE: “Three decades ago, the DC line was built to move low-cost coal-based electricity from North Dakota to power the growing taconite industry in northeast Minnesota’s Iron Range…Back then, it was described as a way to transport ‘coal by wire.’ Now we will use the line to transmit ‘wind by wire’.”
- David Loer, President/CEO, Minnkota Power Cooperative: "Our power requirements projections indicate a need for additional baseload generation, and the Young 2 addition would satisfy a large part of that need…Minnesota Power and Minnkota have been partners since 1977, and we expect to continue working together on future strategic issues."