Schroeder Township Supervisor Bruce Martinson, left, looks over a map with Minnesota Power representatives Josh Skelton and Arik Forsman showing the site of the 26 lots owned by Minnesota Power. Development of the lots, located about a quarter-mile up the Cramer Road, was among the topics discussed during the township board’s May 14 meeting. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Idled in the fall of 2016, the Minnesota Power Taconite Harbor Energy Center property and buildings were the topic of conversation at Schroeder Town Hall on Tuesday, May 14.
Minnesota Power representative Josh Skelton, vice president of general operations, and Arik Forsman, a community relations specialist, gave an overview of the current resource planning processes, including possible impacts to the Taconite Harbor facility.
The informal talk was held one hour before the township’s monthly board meeting. Skelton said it was a chance to update and check in with the township board, as well as “a chance to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have regarding the facility or our plans.”
Minnesota Power made the decision to idle the coal-fired steam electrical generating power plant because of rising coal costs and the decrease in the price of natural gas. They also used the transition to create an energy mix that is cleaner and reduces carbon emissions as they move away from owning and operating coal-fired electrical generation plants.
Opened in 1958, the Taconite Harbor power plant was built to provide electricity to the iron mines on the Range. When all three units were running, Taconite Harbor produced 225 megawatts, about 10 percent of the company’s electrical generation output.
Minnesota Power purchased Taconite Harbor Energy Center from LTV mining in 2001, with Cleveland Cliffs retaining ownership of the loading dock.
From 2007 to 2008 the company spent over $50 million to retrofit units 1 and 2 with new environmental emission controls. Unit 3 was taken offline on June 1, 2015, after it was determined that the company couldn’t afford to upgrade the unit’s emissions controls following newer EPA emissions rules that drove the costs up. That left the plant producing 150 megawatts of electricity.
Minnesota Power plans to keep Taconite Harbor Energy Center idled until 2020, which means if they need to, they can restart it and generate as much as 150 megawatts of electricity. Skelton said it would take about 30 days to get the plant operational, but he added the company has no plans to make that happen.
What’s next?
The massive structure that houses the power plant is well built, said Skelton, and has value. Some ideas explored for potential uses include making it into a storage area for batteries, turning it into a data center, using it as a site for medical marijuana, even developing a site for BIT coin was looked at, “until that idea crashed and burned,” said Arik.
Coming up with a new use for the Taconite Harbor assets and infrastructure that are both beneficial to Minnesota Power customers and the county is difficult, Skelton said.
“It’s a trying game,” noted Arik, comparing it to hitting a baseball. “We try a lot of ideas, but you fail a lot more than when you get singles.”
Assisting Minnesota Power in the effort to come up with a new purpose for the land and plant include the IRRRB, Northspan, DEED, APEX, and even Great River Energy, a friendly competitor, Arik said, adding the hunt for a business that would work at the site is ongoing and nationwide.
Questions
Schroeder township board member Rick Anderson asked both Josh and Arik if the company was going to sell any of the 26 lots that the company plotted in 2007.
The lots, located about one-quarter mile up the Cramer Road, are about 2-4 acres, have septic sites identified, power lines on site and the road is in. Neither gentleman knew about the lots, but both expressed interest in the project that got sidetracked from a crashing economy and a scare from Texas homeowners who built near a power plant and had sued the power company for damages during that time period.
Josh said he would bring this new item up to the company’s land use committee for review, and he sounded enthusiastic about the prospects.
Schroeder fire chief Phil Bonin questioned whether or not the fire department could get access to the water and pumps at the plant site. In the winter the Taconite Harbor power plant is the best—and sometimes only—place the Tofte and Schroeder firefighters can readily fill their pumper trucks.
Skelton, who served seven years as a volunteer member of the Aurora firefighters, said he knew how important it is to have ready access to water, and he promised Bonin the company would make sure the firefighters would get the training and access they needed to secure water from the plant.
Bruce Martinson, a Schroeder township supervisor, asked if the company was interested in restarting a volunteer group to help brainstorm ideas for the facility.
“We had a group that met a few times, but it hasn’t met for the last several years,” said Martinson.
What Bruce was referring to was the Taconite Harbor Community Advisory Panel (CAP), which was formed in 2016 and met several times to come up with a solution that would retain some kind of business—and jobs—at the site once the power plant is gone.
Both Skelton and Arik were receptive to that idea, and a meeting will be scheduled in September after the tourism season has slowed down and people have more time to attend.
Taconite Harbor Energy Center
On January 1, 2020, the coal-fired power plant will be closed and all of the coal stored there will be moved from the site. But goodbye to coal doesn’t mean Minnesota Power hasn’t explored other ideas for producing electricity at the plant.
One potential option might be to convert the plant to biomass, Skelton said, possibly using the train line connecting Aurora Hoyt Lakes and Taconite Harbor to ship biomass to the plant.
Currently, Minnesota Power operates two biomass facilities, the Hibbard Renewable Energy Center in West Duluth, and the Rapids Energy Center in Grand Rapids.
The power plant in Grand Rapids has two steam turbines and two hydro units that provide Blandin Paper Co. with steam, compressed air, and electricity. Wood burned in the plant comes from the paper mill and other local forest products.
Skelton noted that the yield from biomass is lower than that from coal. Rapids Energy Center produces 30 megawatts while Hibbard produces 48 megawatts, and Hibbard uses a mixture of coal and biomass in its operation. Still, Taconite Harbor Energy Center could one day produce electricity, he said.
Somewhat overlooked in earlier discussions is the importance of the transmission lines at Taconite Harbor Energy Center. With 8,742 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines and 164 substations in its portfolio, the transmission lines have value because of their location near a large capacitor bank, which helps maintain power quality, said Skelton.
As the men left to go back to Duluth, they were asked more questions in the hallway. In turn they asked how Minnesota Power could best support the community and county while serving its customers. It was a fair exchange of ideas and left everyone feeling hopeful for a bright future for the Taconite Harbor Energy Center.
Leave a Reply