Last week, Minnesota-based National Grid Renewables hosted a community event celebrating two new solar projects located in Southern Minnesota — the 50-MW Louise Solar Project located in Mower County and the 45-MW Fillmore County Solar Project. The “Homegrown Minnesolar” event brought together community members, landowners, customers, partners and local officials to celebrate and recognize the positive impact of these projects to the local communities and residents.
“We’re incredibly proud of our farmer-founded roots that began right here in Minnesota,” said Blake Nixon, president of National Grid Renewables. “As a Minnesota-headquartered company, today is an exciting day. The Fillmore County and Louise Solar projects represent our deep commitment to boosting economic vitality in communities throughout rural America in the form of new investment driving economic growth, tax revenue, jobs and charitable funding.”
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy has an agreement to purchase 80 MW of energy from the Fillmore County and Louise solar projects to deliver to its customers throughout the Upper Midwest.
“Solar energy — combined with the nation-leading amounts of wind power we’re bringing onto our system, the retirement of our coal plants and the continued operation of our carbon-free nuclear fleet — supports our vision of providing 100% carbon-free electricity to our customers,” said Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “At the same time, these solar installations will help us open up new subscriptions in our popular Renewable*Connect program, which allows participating customers to attribute more of their energy use to renewable sources and support the clean energy transition.”
In partnership with Renewing the Countryside, the event featured a farmer’s market, showcasing local farmers and vendors, including Squash Blossom Farm, Leafy Legacy Family Farm, Seven Songs Organic Farm, CannonBelles Cheese, Carlson Roasting, The Bee Shed, Simple Soaps for Simple Folks, Joe Mama BBQ Sauce and Schmidt Farm. Products available at the market included a variety of jams, honey, chocolates and other delicious items produced by local makers.
Event attendees also had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Louise Solar project, where guests were able to see and learn first-hand how a solar project is built. Both projects utilize First Solar Series 6+ Bifacial modules and are being constructed by Berry Construction.
Last week, National Grid Renewables also announced a pledge of $380,000 in total contributions to charitable funding through the Fillmore and Louise projects. The projected contributions will be divided between two education funds supporting the Southland and LeRoy-Ostrander school districts. Together, Fillmore and Louise will contribute more than $30 million in direct economic impact over the first 20 years of operation, including over $4 million in new tax revenue to be distributed to local townships and counties. An estimated 300 construction workers built the projects, and the projects will each employ 1-2 operations and maintenance team members.
