Minnesota PUC approves 550 MW gas plant despite renewables push


Minnesota PUC approves 550 MW gas plant despite renewables push
Dive Brief: Minnesota regulators on Monday voted 3-2 to approve a 550 MW natural gas plant in Wisconsin after rejecting a last minute petition for environmental review by a Native American environmental group, Honor the Earth. The proposed $700 million Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) will be co-owned by Minnesota Power and Dairyland Power Cooperative, serving customers across northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In July, an law administrative judge recommended the proposal be rejected, saying Minnesota Power did not adequately prove the purchase was "needed and reasonable." The gas-fired plant has faced opposition from environmental and consumer groups who say it is "unneeded and unreasonable" from both a ratepayer and an environmental perspective, Leigh Currie, a senior staff attorney from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), told Utility Dive.... ...more
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Minnesota regulators on Monday voted 3-2 to approve a 550 MW natural gas plant in Wisconsin after rejecting a last minute petition for environmental review by a Native American environmental group, Honor the Earth.
The proposed $700 million Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) will be co-owned by Minnesota Power and Dairyland Power Cooperative, serving customers across northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In July, an law administrative judge recommended the proposal be rejected, saying Minnesota Power did not adequately prove the purchase was "needed and reasonable."
The gas-fired plant has faced opposition from environmental and consumer groups who say it is "unneeded and unreasonable" from both a ratepayer and an environmental perspective, Leigh Currie, a senior staff attorney from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), told Utility Dive....