Key energy issues under debate in the most recent legislative session and the need for a balanced portfolio when planning for future electric grid reliability were among the topics presented during last week’s Energy Forum at Thumper Pond Resort.

The forum, an annual event hosted by Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) since 2022, served as the platform for a panel of national and local leaders within the industry to meet with both LREC members and the broader community to share their recommendations on navigating the transition to added renewable sources of energy and information on the projects—both planned and currently underway—required to meet the anticipated increase in future demand.

While generation and transmission cooperatives such as Great River Energy (GRE), LREC’s wholesale power provider, plan for the increased role of renewables in their energy portfolios—up to 72 percent of all generation by 2037 in GRE’s case—the reliability and capacity provided by traditional energy sources such as natural gas is necessary as well. 

“We’re very well positioned for our capacity position for the grid over the next 3-5 years. We’re providing above and beyond what the grid needs,” said Zac Ruzycki, GRE’s Director of Resource Planning. “So, for our members, for Minnesota and the grid, we’re providing the adequate resources that are needed to guarantee reliability. We will need new capacity in the 2030’s, and that’s something we’re working on right now.”

Ruzycki cited potential data centers as drivers for the increased load and shared plans to develop new battery storage and dual fuel peaking plants as resources to accommodate that demand.

Consideration for increased transmission is also being addressed in GRE’s plans for new construction throughout the state. With forecasts showing an ability to transfer approximately 10 GW will be needed to maintain grid reliability, the installation of a high-voltage “superhighway” of 765-kV line has been approved. The first of its kind in the Upper Midwest, one 765-kV line is the equivalent of six standard 345-kV lines—making it a cost-effective solution with less impact to surrounding environments.

In a shift to other topics, Darrick Moe, CEO of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association and advocate for lifting the nuclear ban, shared his thoughts on net metering and the state’s moratorium on nuclear energy as the state moves toward meeting the Carbon-Free by 2040 standard.

“Lifting the moratorium would not mean we are on the road to building any particular plant,” Moe said. “But, we are in the process of being left behind. What lifting the moratorium would do is allow Minnesota’s utilities and our universities and our labor unions to consider these vitally important carbon-free resources.”