Great River Energy: Powering what’s possible

Great River Energy (GRE) is a wholesale electric cooperative owned by 26 member-owner cooperatives, including Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric.

GRE provides wholesale electric service to Minnesota electric cooperatives with an eye toward its triple bottom line of rates, reliability and environmental stewardship.

Great River Energy’s wholesale electric rates stand approximately 20% below the weighted regional average cost of electricity. Its reliability scores remain strong, and the cooperative is testing leading-edge technologies to make the electric system even more robust and resilient.

Because of strategic, forward-thinking business decisions made over the last decade, Great River Energy has seen its greenhouse gases emissions fall and renewable energy resources grow, putting the cooperative in a strong position to achieve Minnesota’s carbon-free standard by 2040.

Building a better grid

A historic buildout of transmission infrastructure is underway in the Midwest, and Great River Energy is developing critical pathways and making strategic investments.

GRE and Minnesota Power have made progress on the first project of the planned grid expansion. The Northland Reliability Project is a 180-mile, double-circuit 345-kilovolt transmission line extending from northern to central Minnesota.

The project will help maintain a reliable and resilient regional power grid as more renewable energy is brought online, existing power plants are retired, electrification continues to expand, and more frequent extreme weather events occur.

Great River Energy will also be involved in three upcoming projects, including two 345-kilovolt transmission lines in northern Minnesota and a new 765-kilovolt transmission backbone that will start in South Dakota, traverse across southern Minnesota and into Wisconsin and Iowa.

Making strategic investments in these projects helps GRE offset transmission costs for its member-owner cooperatives.

Electricity is evolving

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously accepted Great River Energy’s integrated resource plan, which outlines the cooperative’s expectations for member load growth and new generation resources.

Under the plan, Great River Energy anticipates procuring or constructing more than 1,200 megawatts of wind power, 200 megawatts of energy storage and 200 megawatts of solar power by 2037.

GRE also owns and operates a fleet of natural gas-fueled power plants that can produce electricity in a matter of minutes, often being called upon when electricity demand is elevated, or wind energy production is low.

Clean energy buildout earns federal funding

Great River Energy and a consortium of member-owner cooperatives were approved to receive $812 million in federal grants for a portfolio of projects that will make the electric system cleaner and more reliable.

The projects funded through the New ERA program have the potential to result in:

• 1,000+ megawatts of renewable energy

• 1,500+ new jobs

• $40 million in annual cost savings

• 5 million+ tons of carbon dioxide emissions reductions annually

Membership pays

Cooperatives are not-for-profit organizations that are owned by the members they serve with services provided at cost. They only collect enough revenue to run the business and meet financial obligations.

In 2024, GRE’s board of directors approved the payment of $15 million to membership owners through its 2024 patronage capital return.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Great River Energy has issued a patronage capital return to its member-owners. Learn more about GRE by visiting greatriverenergy.com

 

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