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News of the week
October 10, 2024
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Minnesota municipal utilities personnel deploy for mutual aid
Professionals from 14 Minnesota municipal utilities answered the call for help as Hurricane Milton rapidly strengthened while barreling toward Florida over the weekend. By Sunday morning two MMUA staffers were organizing in the field and support staff were quickly coordinating logistics at the MMUA office. On Monday afternoon, the group of 38 deployed from a mustering area at Rochester Public Utilities. The convoy included more than a dozen bucket trucks, two digger derricks, a mechanic truck, and a handful of pickups. All arrived in central Florida early Wednesday morning to await landfall.
The Minnesota contingent joins a group of some 700 public power personnel from 22 states and 1,300 contractors. They will all be working together to blunt the effects Milton will have on the affected utility systems. Minnesota's team is currently stationed in Kissimmee, north of the projected path of the storm's center. Minnesota's personnel could be conducting mutual aid repairs in Florida for as long as two weeks. Big thanks, once again, to Granite Electronics who supplied the crews with radios for use on the ground free of charge.
Read news coverage here. Thank you to all the individuals and municipals that have stepped up to help!
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Minnesota becomes first state in region to approve MISO long range transmission planning project
On October 3, the Big Stone South-Alexandria-Big Oaks project, a 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission project in Minnesota, became the first transmission project approved by any state public utilities commission in the region.
The 200-mile transmission line will run from the Big Stone South substation to the Alexandria and Big Oaks substations and help provide more reliable energy to the state.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission also approved the Mankato-Mississippi River 345-kV transmission project, which will extend from Mankato to southeast Minnesota.
Learn more here.
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Bloomington wins best water in Minnesota award
On September 18, Bloomington, Minnesota, won the “Best in Glass” trophy at the annual American Water Works Association (AWWA) Minnesota chapter conference. Bloomington ascribed their success to lime softening, which they say makes their water softer and better tasting.
The final round of the competition included Bloomington, Moorhead, Owatonna, and St. Peter. Bloomington will represent Minnesota at AWWA’s national competition in Denver in June of 2025. Learn more here.
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MMUA team members complete POSH training | |
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Six members of MMUA's safety team completed training in principles of occupational safety and health (POSH) through the Minnesota Safety Council in late September. The intensive four-day course covered 14 topics on the fundamentals of workplace safety and health, as well as best practices for implementing and managing a safety program.
MMUA participants included Travis Denison and Keith Byklum (first and second from the right in row two), Brad Gunderson, Jim Bruender, Roger Avelsgard, and Mike Grabow (back row, fifth, seventh, ninth, and tenth from left). Each of these MMUA team members is well on his way to attaining the Advanced Safety Certification credential by the end of 2025.
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Mountain Iron, Minnesota, makes national news as Walz boasts about state's solar industry
One minute, you're going about your manufacturing business in a small Minnesota town, and the next, the whole country is asking questions.
At last week's vice presidential debate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mentioned the Heliene Inc. solar manufacturing plant in Mountain Iron during his discussion with JD Vance. The shoutout brought unexpected attention to the company and its owners. Walz referred to it as the “largest solar manufacturing plant in North America,” which is untrue. The plant does rank as one of the largest producers of solar modules, having grown exponentially since its founding in 2010. In October 2022, Minnesota Senator Tina Smith was present at the ribbon-cutting for Heliene's new plant, which was billed as the "second largest solar panel manufacturing facility in the United States" at the time.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Heliene's president, Martin Pochtaruk says, “We might be the oldest [company of our type] … We don’t need to be the largest. What is important is that we’re creating jobs in the state.” The plant employs around 100 workers in Mountain Iron and is capable of producing about 4,000 solar panels per day.
Overall, Minnesota generated about 4 percent of its total energy needs via solar sources in 2023. The state employs about 4,800 workers in solar-related jobs, and it hosts around 180 solar companies. Installed solar infrastructure can generate 2,825 megawatts (MWs) in Minnesota, which ranks 16th in the nation. Over the next five years, experts estimate another 2,721 MWs of solar generation will be added in Minnesota.
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MDH releases draft drinking water plan and invites public comment
On October 7, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a draft action plan to ensure safe drinking water across the state and is inviting feedback from Minnesotans.
The draft Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan is a 10-year roadmap to ensure that everyone, everywhere in Minnesota, has equitable access to safe and sufficient drinking water. The plan outlines anticipated future challenges, identifies risks and gaps, and proposes strategies to address them.
At the recommendation of the Clean Water Council, the Minnesota Legislature directed MDH to coordinate the development of this plan, using Clean Water Fund dollars (Minnesota Laws of 2023, chapter 40, article 2, section 7e). The plan incorporates expertise and feedback from water professionals, state and local governments, researchers, and Minnesotans who drink water.
Minnesota has an outstanding record of providing safe and sufficient drinking water. Yet, the plan identifies current and anticipated challenges such as limited protections for private well users, a shrinking drinking water workforce, as well as emerging risks from contaminants, pathogens, and climate change.
Three key takeaways from the draft plan include:
- While people relying on public water systems can be confident in the quality of their drinking water, Minnesota’s 1.1 million private well users need further support and resources so that they, too, can be confident their drinking water is safe.
- The drinking water workforce is critical to safe drinking water, and it is shrinking. Many water operators and well contractors are retiring, and few new people are entering the field. Safe drinking water relies on supporting the current workforce and recruiting and engaging the next generation.
- Minnesota has been a leader in the nation for scanning the horizon for emerging risks to drinking water and understanding how those risks may affect people. To ensure safe drinking water into the future, Minnesota must continue anticipating, understanding, and managing emerging risks.
MDH invites the public to review the draft Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan and provide input by October 17. The plan, a summary, and feedback form are posted at Future of Drinking Water.
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Celebrating public power and gas | |
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Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week are both celebrated this week, October 6–12, 2024!
Both APPA and APGA are leading the charge on communicating nationally with media regarding the benefits of these critical publicly-owned utilities. Each association has also made a video that tells this important story to ratepayers. Click the photos above and below to view these videos and to get links to place them on your social media accounts. It's not too late. Tell your community's story to ratepayers and other stakeholders by tapping into the resources APPA and APGA have created and posting them on your website or social media. Resources for Public Natural Gas Week are available from APGA, and resources for Public Power Week are available from APPA.
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Renville County could be site of new $245 million solar farm
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission held a public meeting on October 9 to discuss project plans for a new 125-megawatt solar farm in Renville County.
If approved, the project would be the first solar installation by AES Clean Energy in Minnesota. The solar installation is expected to cover about 1,000 acres located five miles east of the Jackpot Junction Casino in Morton. It will include 290,948 solar panels and connect to the electrical grid at the Xcel Energy Franklin substation. Learn more here.
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Energy improvements in rural or remote areas
This Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) funding opportunity provides support for rural and remote communities to build clean energy projects that benefit their communities. By federal definition, this program is open to communities with fewer than 10,000 people.
The goals of the program are to:
- Deliver measurable and sustained benefits to people who live in rural or remote areas by funding replicable clean energy projects that lower energy costs, improve energy access and resilience, increase economic opportunity, and/or reduce environmental harm.
- Demonstrate effective rural or remote energy system approaches using climate-resilient technologies, business structures that promote economic resilience, accessible and appropriate financing mechanisms, and/or best practices in community leadership and engagement, and workforce development.
- Build clean energy knowledge, experience, capacity, and self-reliance in rural and remote parts of America.
Concept papers are due by February 27, 2025, and full applications are due by August 28, 2025. To learn more about these grants click here. To learn about federal energy funding for rural and remote areas, check out this guide.
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MPCA planning grants for stormwater, wastewater, and community resilience
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is soliciting project proposals to distribute $750,000 for climate planning projects to communities across Minnesota. This funding provides an opportunity for these communities to assess vulnerabilities and begin planning for the effects of Minnesota’s changing climate in three areas:
- How to increase resilience to stormwater and reduce localized flood risk.
- How to improve the resilience of wastewater systems.
- How to reduce human health effects and adapt community services, ordinances, and public spaces to the changing climate.
Applications are due by Thursday, November 14. To learn more, click here.
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Minnesota Department of Commerce electric grid resilience grant program
The Minnesota Department of Commerce issued an RFP for grants available to community-owned municipal utilities, cooperatives, and power agencies. A total of $5.3 million will be available, with maximum grants of $250,000. There are no match requirements. Proposals are due November 19, 2024.
MMUA held informational webinars on Tuesday, September 17 and September 24.
- Download the RFP here
- Review slides from DOC's webinar here
- Review slides from MMUA's September 17 webinar here
- Review the recording of MMUA's September 17 informational webinar here
- Review slides from MMUA's September 24 webinar here
- Review the recording of MMUA's September 24 webinar here
- Review the grant timeline here
MMUA will again provide members with assistance in preparing their grant requests by hosting webinars and making team members available for consultation. Contact Karleen Kos or Blaine Chaulklin for more information.
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Minnesota Beneficial Electrification
Leadership Summit
Humphrey School Conference Center
301 S 19th Ave, Room 100
Minneapolis
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Technology is rapidly advancing and energy tech businesses are moving to Minnesota. The theme of the event is “Opportunities Abound for Beneficial Electrification.” As billions of dollars are flowing from DOE, EPA, DOT, and the states on issues related to electrification and efficiency, our conversation will focus around topics such as electric transportation, economic development and emerging opportunities, and challenges with new loads.
Municipal utilities representatives are on the program. We hope you can join this informational convening and network with your peers and colleagues. Click here for more information or to register.
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MMUA's Technical and Operations (T&O) Conference
December 10–12, 2024
St. Cloud Holiday Inn, St. Cloud
Registration is open for this year’s conference! Featuring the theme “Safer Together,” the 2024 T&O Conference will be held at the St. Cloud Holiday Inn. The program will feature speakers on topics such as safety, building a customer service culture, technical how-tos for crew leaders and front-line supervisors, and the ever-popular roundtables.
Reservations can be made using this special link. MMUA has secured a reduced room rate of $112/ night for the conference.
Registration for the conference is available here. We will be excited to see you there!
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As always, thank you for your association with MMUA and your commitment to delivering excellent service through locally owned utility assets in your community. Have a great week!
Karleen Kos
Chief Executive Officer
Direct: 763-746-0701 / Cell: 813-675-7589
kkos@mmua.org | www.mmua.org
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Hometown services. Hometown strengths. Hometown solutions. | | | | |
