COHASSET — There's more time to submit comments on Minnesota Power's proposed integrated resource plan after the Public Utilities Commission extended the deadline.
The documents set out the utility’s plan to meet customer demand for electricity through 2039.
The comment period opened in April, and the first deadline was in August. Now the deadline for initial comments is Oct. 24, for reply comments is Dec. 23 and for supplemental comments is Jan. 23, 2026.
Comments on the plan can be submitted online, by mail and by email. The PUC offers tips on effective commenting.
The commission said it expects to make a decision on the plan in spring or early summer next year.
Clean Grid Alliance, Fresh Energy, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Sierra Club requested the extension Wednesday and were joined by CURE and the Office of the Attorney General.
The groups said they needed additional time to finish modeling an alternative plan due to changes in Minnesota Power's modeling methodology. They also need to modify their model in response to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts energy tax credits.
The groups plan to analyze Minnesota Power's plan to assess reliability issues and see if there is a cleaner, more economic option.
"We believe [providing an alternative plan] is especially important after the passage of the OBBBA, as this is a critical moment to understand the extent to which any of the fossil development proposed by Minnesota Power can be replaced by renewable resources," the group wrote.
The plan would convert the Boswell Energy Center to natural gas — and possibly biomass — and add wind, solar and energy storage to the network.
The utility said it would meet the state requirement of 90% carbon-free electricity by 2035 but fall short of 100% by 2040.
Minnesota Power and multiple state agencies were in Cohasset on Monday for a public hearing about the plan. It was the last of five public hearings hosted over the last two weeks.
About 30 people gathered in the Cohasset Community Center to listen to residents and officials speak in favor of Minnesota Power’s plan.
Mayor Josh Casper said the prospect of replacing the tax base of the Boswell Energy Center kept him up at night. The power plant was set to sunset its coal-burning units in the coming years, and the plant's future wasn't clear until the last few months.
"When Minnesota Power released their recent IRP earlier this year, it was almost an instant weight off my shoulders," Casper said. "Although we don't quite know what it will look like yet with jobs and tax base, knowing that Minnesota Power is committed to Cohasset and Boswell Energy Center is huge.”
Other supporters included:
- Two residents
- Itasca County
- Grand Rapids School District
- Range Association of Municipalities and Schools
- Itasca Economic Development Corp.
- Mining Minnesota
- Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
- International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49
- Laborers' International Union of North America
Hudson Kingston of CURE, who is based in Ely, was the only person at the meeting who opposed the plan.
"I think that we can make a plan that is least cost, cleaner and is maximum employment," Kingston said.