Minnesota Power released a Request for Proposals (RFP) yesterday for up to 300 MW of wind generation, with proposals due by September 7, 2016. A copy of the RFP and additional details are available at http://www.mnpower.com/Company/PowerSupplyRFP. Minnesota Power also filed its press release with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC).
Minnesota Power will also release several more RFPs over the next few weeks for up to 300 MW of utility-scale solar generation and an unspecified amount of demand response and customer self-generation.
This series of RFPs comes on the heels of the MPUC’s Order issued last week approving and modifying Minnesota Power’s Integrated Resource Plan. The Order requires Minnesota Power to “initiate a competitive-bidding process to procure 100–300 MW of installed wind capacity” by the end of 2017. The Order also requires Minnesota Power to “acquire solar units of 11 MW by 2016, 12 MW by 2020, and 10 MW by 2025” and finds that “up to 100 MW of solar by 2022 is likely an economic resource for Minnesota Power’s system.” Minnesota Power must also “propose a demand-response competitive-bidding process within six months,” and “include a full analysis of all alternatives to natural gas, including renewables, energy efficiency, distributed generation, and demand response, for providing the energy and capacity sufficient to meet the Company’s needs” in its next resource plan. A copy of the Order is available here (pdf).