Great River Supplies Heat and Steam to New North Dakota Biofuels Refinery
Posted on Aug 7, 2015 in Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on Great River Supplies Heat and Steam to New North Dakota Biofuels Refinery
The Dakota Spirit AgEnergy plant receives its heat and steam from Great River Energy’s (Great River) Spiritwood Station coal plant. Spiritwood Station is fueled with refined lignite from Great River’s Coal Creek station 150 miles away. Read more about Great River’s involvement with the Dakota plant here.
Obama Administration Considers Pushing Back Clean Power Plan Deadlines
Posted on Jul 30, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Obama Administration Considers Pushing Back Clean Power Plan Deadlines
On Tuesday the New York Times reported that the Obama administration plans to push back Clean Power Plan deadlines. Originally the Clean Power Plan required existing plants to develop a plan to cut emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2030. The Plan further required states to present a plan for implementing Plan rules by 2016 and begin compliance by 2020. The Obama...
New Coop-Owned Ethanol Refinery Fires Up
Posted on Jul 29, 2015 in Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development | Comments Off on New Coop-Owned Ethanol Refinery Fires Up
A new ethanol refinery, in which Minnesota-based Great River Energy (GRE) owns a majority stake, recently reached commercial operation. The refinery is located adjacent to a GRE-owned coal-fired power plant. Steam from the coal plant is used to power the refinery. Click here for more.
Minnesota Electric Cooperative to Install Solar on Municipal Building
Posted on Jul 22, 2015 in Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Minnesota Electric Cooperative to Install Solar on Municipal Building
In a deal being billed as the first of its kind, Wright-Hennepin Electric Cooperative Association (Wright-Hennepin) has reached an agreement with the city of Rockford whereby Wright-Hennepin will install solar panels on two separate sites owned by the city. Wright-Hennepin will not be responsible for any lease payments, and the city will receive a 7 percent discount on its electricity...
Coops Fare Well in J.D. Power Utility Study
Posted on Jul 20, 2015 in Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Fare Well in J.D. Power Utility Study
Several coops were highly ranked in the J.D. Power 2015 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. Only 20 coops were reviewed for the study, which was limited to utilities with at least 100,000 residential customers, but many of those included scored well. Click here for a link to J.D. Power’s report and here for more information on the performance of coops.
Great River Energy Offers Electric Vehicle Users 100% Wind Charge at No Extra Expense
Posted on Jul 20, 2015 in Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Great River Energy Offers Electric Vehicle Users 100% Wind Charge at No Extra Expense
In June Minnesota-based generation and transmission cooperative Great River Energy (GRE) and its members rolled out their new “Revolt” program, which allows electric vehicle (EV) users to charge their vehicles using 100 percent wind energy at no extra expense. Consumers pay standard rates to charge their cars, and GRE retires renewable energy credits to cover every kilowatt-hour of...
Great River Energy Launches First-of-its-Kind Program to Fuel Electric Cars with Wind Energy
Posted on Jun 5, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Great River Energy Launches First-of-its-Kind Program to Fuel Electric Cars with Wind Energy
Minnesota electric cooperative Great River Energy and its member cooperatives recently launched a new green energy program called the Revolt program. The program allows eligible cooperative members who drive electric vehicles to fuel those vehicles with wind energy. To be eligible for the program, a member must own or lease a plug-in electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid by December 31,...
Green Power EMC Increases its Solar Portfolio
Posted on May 28, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Green Power EMC Increases its Solar Portfolio
Green Power EMC announced Wednesday that it will buy the full output of a 52-MW solar farm in southeast Georgia for 30 years. The solar farm is owned by Silicon Ranch Corp., which has previously leased the output of another of its solar facilities to Green Power. Partnerships like these have allowed Green Power EMC to supply renewable energy to 38 other Georgia EMCs. Click here to...
Texas Coop Breaks Ground on New Hydroelectric Plant
Posted on May 28, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Texas Coop Breaks Ground on New Hydroelectric Plant
The East Texas Electric Cooperative and Trinity River Authority of Texas recently broke ground on a new hydroelectric project. The Thomas Hydroelectric Project is located at Lake Livingston Dam and is expected to become operational in 2018. Once online the new hydroelectric power plant will produce enough electricity to power 12,000 homes in East Texas. Click here to read...
Fitch Ratings Study Finds that Cooperatives Must Adapt to Maintain Stable Credit Quality
Posted on May 15, 2015 in Economic Downturn, Financing, Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Fitch Ratings Study Finds that Cooperatives Must Adapt to Maintain Stable Credit Quality
A recent report by Fitch Ratings found that electrical cooperatives today face challenges created by changing technologies, slowing growth and changing consumer usage patterns. These challenges will require that cooperatives find ways to adapt if they want to maintain strong credit quality in the A to AA range. For example, one adaptation made by many cooperatives has been to decouple...
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