Minnesota Power Completes Jean Duluth Solar Project

DULUTH, Minn. — The equivalent of 300 homes a year will start getting their energy from the sun, and a new Northland solar project.

1 of 3 locations is on Riley Road near the soccer fields and Jean Duluth Road. Minnesota Power dedicated this new site Wednesday. The 8 1/2 acres is part of a $40 million solar project that will also have sites near Brainerd and Hoyt Lakes.

Carrie Ryan, Project Manager at Minnesota Power said, “Construction is complete, as you can see here, and we’re working on the commissioning activities, and we expect to be delivering energy to our customers by early December.”

“The energy produced here builds on the fifty percent renewable energy we are already providing today and is an important step toward reaching our vision of providing 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2050,” said Allete CEO Bethany Owen.

All of the solar panels were built locally, at Heliene’s Mountain Iron facility. With the entire project on-site and also built by local workers, there is the hope that it shows the potential for new kinds of jobs in an evolving energy industry.

Lucas Franco, Laborers’ International Union of N. America said, “Minnesota Power has not only been a leader in carbon reduction, but they are demonstrating how to transition to clean energy sources without leaving workers behind, and that is such an important point. They are ensuring that new investments like this one, create high quality, family sustaining jobs for local workers.”

The next step is getting the power from the panels plugged into the energy grid. The expectations are that customers could be receiving energy from these panels by early December.