Six Northland projects received grants for clean energy projects in the latest round of the Minnesota State Competitiveness Fund.
The state created the fund to help competitiveness in the pursuit of federal funds — from the Inflation Reduction Act in particular — by providing a state match.
Projects only receive the state dollars if awarded federal funds.
“To date, more than $20 million in SCF Matching Funds and $135 million in federal funding has been put toward clean energy projects in Minnesota,” stated Pete Wyckoff, deputy commissioner of energy resources for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, in a news release.
“These investments are critical for achieving Minnesota’s 100% clean energy by 2040 goal. We are proud to support efforts that lower energy costs, modernize energy infrastructure and accelerate the adoption of advanced energy systems."
In recent months, the Trump administration has canceled clean energy grants, and the budget bill signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, slashed clean energy incentives and tax cuts.
In the release, the Minnesota Department of Commerce stated that it is monitoring future federal policy updates and changes. There are concerns that the federal government's new energy priorities may increase Minnesota state costs and hinder its ability to meet its climate goals, the agency stated.
The Northern Minnesota grantees are:
- Beltrami Electric Cooperative, $123,159, to rebuild 5.7 miles of distribution overhead electrical lines underground to increase resiliency to the Little Rock community of the Red Lake Nation
- Lake Country Power, $999,999, for a load management modernization project to help members adopt technologies to help balance the intermittency of renewable energy generation
- North Itasca Electric Co-op, Inc., $156,235, to enhance energy reliability and resilience in tribal communities by modernizing the Wirt, Evenson, Jessie Lake and Northome substations and moving overhead lines underground
- Northstar Lime, LLC in Crookston, $535,640, for a solar energy generation project across a lime slag pelletizing plant and three agricultural storage facilities
- University of Minnesota Crookston, $999,999, to install a new high-temperature thermal energy battery and other electrified steam generation on campus and solar as part of sustainability efforts
- Wild Rice Electric Cooperative, $82,963, for moving 7.6 miles of overhead line underground around Tulaby Lake and Snider Lake Road, which are particularly prone to outages because of tree cover
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