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DULUTH — Two new solar projects in northern Minnesota will begin providing power to the grid by the end of the year, and a third will come online in the spring.
Once all are operational, Minnesota Power's three projects will produce a combined 20 megawatts — enough solar energy to power approximately 4,000 homes.
The Duluth-based utility company on Wednesday held a celebration marking the completion of its 1.6-megawatt project on an 8.5-acre lot leased from the city of Duluth at the intersection of Jean Duluth and Riley roads.
Like the Duluth location, a larger 15-megawatt solar project at Minnesota Power's Sylvan Hydro Station near Brainerd will be operational by the end of the year.
The final project, a 5.6-megawatt solar project at its Laskin Energy Center in Hoyt Lakes, will be finished this spring.
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The three projects, costing a combined $40 million, were sped up during summer 2020 after Minnesota regulators urged utilities to jump start renewable energy projects to help with the state's COVID-19 economic recovery.
And it largely relied on local labor and materials. All 3,770 solar panels used at the Duluth site were manufactured at Heliene, Inc. in Mountain Iron.
"This is probably the most economically local project Minnesota Power has ever undertaken, which was intended from the early planning stages," said Minnesota Power Project Manager Carrie Ryan.
Lucas Franco, research manager at the Laborers' International Union of North America, in Minnesota and North Dakota, said the three projects created almost 40 "family sustaining construction jobs for local workers."
"All three of Minnesota Power's solar projects, including this one, used almost exclusively local laborers, vastly increasing the positive economic impact. Local workers spend three to four times more locally than non-local workers," Franco said.
"It's also in sharp contrast to what we've seen on other renewable energy projects by other companies, especially in southern Minnesota, that have not relied on local workers. So it's really a big deal."
And it gets Minnesota Power closer to its renewable energy goals, said Bethany Owen, chair, president and CEO of Allete, Minnesota Power's parent company.
"... It's an important step towards our reaching our vision of providing 100% free energy by 2050," Owen said.
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