The Outlet is published quarterly to highlight Great River Energy's economic development activities.
Electric cooperatives help DataBank
achieve renewable energy milestone
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.
The company entered into an agreement with utility provider Dakota Electric Association to purchase 100% renewable energy to meet all of MSP2’s 6 megawatts of critical IT load for the next five years. 
VR technology brings site selectors to communities
Virtual reality technology has become an ace move for economic developers in 2020. The onset of COVID-19 and the related challenges have increased the utility of virtual reality even further. Many economic development partners and site selectors remain under travel restrictions tied to the pandemic. VR provides access to areas they otherwise would not be able to visit.
Why companies should onshore during the COVID-19 pandemic
Business executives have watched their supply chains be disrupted and product deliveries delayed due to COVID-19. For four decades, companies have offshored manufacturing operations overseas in order to save costs. Now may be the time to reshore those operations since moving manufacturing processes state-side, at least in part, is one logical solution to reducing the risk of future disruptions.
Meet your economic development services team
Tom Lambrecht
Tom administers and implements economic development strategies.
You can reach him at
763-445-6105 and tlambrecht@grenergy.com 
Erin Sparks
Erin, based in Maple Grove, focuses on economic development in central and southern Minnesota. You can reach her at 763-445-6113 and esparks@grenergy.com 
Jeff Borling
Jeff, based in Duluth, focuses on economic development in northern Minnesota. You can reach him at 218-355-8088 and jborling@grenergy.com 
Our member-owner cooperatives
Great River Energy and our 28 member-owner cooperatives take pride in providing our service territory across Minnesota with competitively priced, reliable energy. We are also committed to helping customers start and grow their businesses by helping them plan and manage their energy needs.