Energy

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved the sale to BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on Oct. 3, 2025.

The meetings in Bena, Cohasset and online will focus on Minnesota Power's application for a site and route permit on its proposed solar project.

The meetings in Coleraine, Floodwood, Hermantown and Cloquet will allow members of the public to comment and ask questions about the proposed route of the 63-mile line.

The Public Utilities Commission, which must approve the sale, is taking comment on a judge's recommendation to block the sale and a settlement between the investors and the Department of Commerce.

The Public Utilities Commission extended the deadline to comment on the utility's plan for providing power through 2039 at the request of environmental organizations.

The electric cooperative plans to construct a 6-mile underground line connecting substations in northwestern Minnesota to improve resiliency for 1,500 square miles.

Meetings in Eveleth, Duluth, Cohasset, Little Falls and online will give the public a chance to comment on how the utility plans to provide power through 2039.

Parent company ALLETE strongly disagrees with the ruling. The sale to raise capital for the clean energy transition has raised concerns from environmentalists and industry.

The bill is likely to change in the Senate, where clean energy advocates and industries are pressing GOP lawmakers.

The line would run from its Iron Range Substation near Grand Rapids to its St. Louis County Substation near Hermantown with a connection to American Transmission Co.’s nearby Arrowhead Substation.