The Minnesota Public Utility Commission unanimously approved the transfer of Coal Creek Station’s high-voltage direct current transmission line permit from Great River Energy (GRE) to Nexus Line, LLC, a subsidiary of Rainbow Energy Center LLC on Thursday. This marks the completion of the last major regulatory hurdle required for the sale of Coal Creek Station to Rainbow Energy to move forward.
Senator John Hoeven, R-ND, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he has been working with Great River Energy, Rainbow Energy, North American Coal, and the state’s leadership to find a solution to keep the plant and adjacent Falkirk Mine in operation.
He issued a statement saying, “Today’s approval is a critical milestone in transferring ownership of Coal Creek to Rainbow Energy, which will help ensure this facility continues to provide affordable and reliable energy to the region, while supporting good-paying jobs at both the station and the Falkirk mine.”
“Moreover, Rainbow Energy’s investment in Coal Creek provides an important opportunity to expand North Dakota’s leadership in CCUS, as we continue working to bring this technology to the station. Projects like this are key to our nation’s energy security and are possible due to more than a decade of effort to create the right kind of legal, tax and regulatory environment,” Hoeven added.
Governor Doug Burgum said it is a momentous step toward providing a long-term future for the power plant, as well as the workers and communities it supports. “It also offers North Dakota the opportunity to further prove that we can be a national and world leader in carbon capture, storage, and utilization through our continued focus on innovation over regulation," he said. "Preserving the baseload generation that Coal Creek provides is critical to U.S. energy security and maintaining a strong regional power grid, and we’re grateful to the industry, the state legislature and our congressional delegation for their collaboration on ensuring a viable future for North Dakota’s abundant lignite coal."
GRE announced in May 2020 its plans to close the 1,151-megawatt generating plant in Underwood during the second half of 2022. Burgum announced on March 25, 2021, that GRE was in exclusive negotiations to sell Coal Creek Station and GRE’s high-voltage, direct current transmission system that extends between central North Dakota and Minnesota. The pending sale to Rainbow Energy Center and Nexus Line was announced June 30.
In July, GRE’s member cooperatives approved a related purchase power agreement under which GRE will buy 1,050 megawatts of power from Rainbow Energy Center for approximately two years, followed by 300 megawatts for approximately eight years.
