The plan analyses the future electricity needs of Great River Energy’s 28 member cooperatives serving 1.5 million customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The plan outlines what resources are currently available to Great River Energy and how the company will consider new resources for the future.
The plan identifies the need to add 1500MWe of capacity over the forecast period to satisfy an increase in member demand for electricity. Even with the recent addition of nearly 1000MWe of peaking capacity, Great River Energy expects to need further resources in approximately 3-4 years in addition to later in the planning horizon. A variety of options for these new resources will be considered, including gas-fired peaking or intermediate capacity, coal-fired baseload capacity, power purchase contracts and renewable energy sources.
Great River Energy intends to reduce summer peak demand by 140MWe through increasing participation in new and existing conservation and load management projects. In addition, Great River Energy is expanding its portfolio of renewable resources, and is in the final stages of evaluating proposals for up to 100MWe of wind power.
