Renewables

Using renewable resources to make electricity

Our generation portfolio includes environmentally sound renewable energy sources: wind energy, refuse-derived fuel and hydropower. Great River Energy is looking at ways to further diversify its energy portfolio by exploring biomass, fuel cells, clean coal and other technologies as they become available. Under Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard we are required to produce 25 percent of our electricity using renewable energy sources by the year 2025. Great River Energy currently meets or exceeds state renewable energy requirements.

We purchase the electric output from six wind projects in Minnesota and one in North Dakota for more than 350 megawatts of renewable energy.

This program, offered by Great River Energy and our member cooperatives, allows cooperative members to buy additional wind energy for a nominal monthly fee.

Elk River Station, our waste-to-energy plant, converts refuse derived fuel from mixed municipal waste into energy.

Anaerobic digesters at Minnesota dairy farms supply us with renewable energy.

One of Great River Energy’s oldest sources of generation is hydropower from Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) dams. Currently, 100 MW (summer rating) of hydropower for our member cooperatives comes from WAPA.

Great River Energy continually looks to outside resources to develop its generation capability. Here you will find our current Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

At this time we do not have any active RFPs.