The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has approved the Certificate of Need and Route Permit for the Northland Reliability Project, Minnesota Power and Great River Energy’s jointly owned high-voltage transmission line, to bolster electric reliability in northern and central Minnesota and support the regional clean energy transition.
The project is an approximately 180-mile, double-circuit, 345 kV transmission line extending from near Grand Rapids in Itasca County to near St. Cloud in Benton County and into Sherburne County. The approved route will follow existing transmission line corridors and help minimize environmental impacts and the need for new right-of-way for the new line.
The project will support a reliable and resilient local and regional power grid as more renewable energy is brought online; existing power plants are retired; more homes and businesses shift to electricity to power appliances, equipment and heating and cooling systems; and more frequent extreme weather events occur.
The joint project is one of 18 transmission projects approved in July 2022 by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), in the first phase of its Long Range Transmission Plan to integrate new generation resources and boost grid reliability and resilience as the energy transition continues.
The project will be a significant boost to Minnesota’s economy, according to a study from the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at UMD’s Labovitz School of Business and Economics. Researchers estimated that the project will deliver a $2 billion total impact.
While construction is expected to begin on the segment of the project in Benton and Sherburne counties in late 2025 and on the remainder of the project in 2027, the transmission line is expected to be operational by 2030. The route approved by the Commission follows existing transmission corridors and runs through Itasca, Aitkin, Crow Wing, Morrison, Benton and Sherburne counties.
The project is estimated to be worth over $1 billion and the final project costs will be determined by final routing and design considerations. The MPUC will separately review cost recovery for Minnesota Power’s share of the project.
Great River Energy anticipates that by 2035 its retail electric sales will be provided by a 90% carbon-free power supply in alignment with the Minnesota carbon-free standard. Minnesota Power plans for 80% of its electric sales to be provided by a carbon-free power supply by 2030.
The Northland Reliability project is divided into two segments:
- Segment one: Approximately 140 miles of new 345-kV double-circuit transmission lines will be constructed primarily along existing transmission line corridors, from Minnesota Power’s Iron Range Substation in Itasca County to Great River Energy’s Benton County Substation near St. Cloud.
- Segment two: A 20-mile 230-kV line will be replaced with two 345-kV circuits along existing transmission corridors from the Benton County Substation to a new Big Oaks Substation that will be built as part of a separate project. A 20-mile 345-kV line will also be replaced along existing transmission corridors from the Benton County Substation to the Sherco Substation in Sherburne County.
The Northland Reliability Project will also expand the Iron Range Substation near Grand Rapids and the Benton County Substation near St. Cloud. A new Cuyuna Series Compensation Station will be built in Crow Wing County near the existing Riverton Substation.
