Agenda - Council Work Session - 04/11/2023

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• In 2018 Great River Energy (GRE) adopted its corporate goal to achieve 50% renewable energy for its member co-ops by 2030. GRE has been adding solar in various co-op service territories. For more information see their "Renewable Energy Position Statement": https://g reatriverenergy.com/the-cooperative-difference/leg islative-activity/renewable-energy- position -statement/ The top ten sites, five bond -restricted and five non bond -restricted sites, do not represent the only favorable CLP sites for solar development. The scope of this study required us to rank the sites in the CLP and identify the top five bond -restricted and top five non bond -restricted sites. In fact, there is no significant difference between the tenth and eleventh sites in the ranking. We believe many of the sites have favorable characteristics (e.g., capacity and distance to transmission/distribution infrastructure) and will be attractive to power users (off -takers), utilities and solar developers. With proper application of incentives and with improved awareness among non -developer stakeholders many of these sites will attract interest and eventually solar power development. Solar power and energy storage are a valuable combination. During focus group discussions the concept of co -located solar and energy storage was mentioned by more than one stakeholder. Solar paired with energy storage systems can provide stacked electrical grid support services (e.g., voltage regulation, peak shaving, and peak shifting) which can improve the economics of distributed energy resource development on CLP sites. Although not specifically included in the scope of this study, CLP sites, especially the buffer area, is well suited to co -located energy storage systems. There are barriers. While MN CLP sites hold great potential for solar development there are barriers which can make development challenging for some of the sites. Some of these barriers are more challenging than others but all can be overcome. Based on discussions with stakeholders and MN agency representatives we developed the following list of barriers. GOBS. Over $100 million in GOB funds were used to make improvements, including closure, at 55 of the CLP sites. Restrictions associated with use of GOB funds affect approximately 4100 acres across these 55 sites, while there are approximately 1,100 acres at these 55 sites where GOB funds were not spent. The non -bond restricted acres at these 55 sites may have fewer barriers to solar development., however the presence of GOB restrictions elsewhere at the landfill site may complicate solar development at these sites. It is highly likely many of these 55 sites will be attractive to power users, utilities, and developers. Eliminating a majority of acreage from half of the CLP sites from consideration for solar power development solely on the basis of bond status would severely limit the opportunity to meet renewable energy goals and reduce carbon emissions in Minnesota. In the course of this study there have been several conversations about this topic with members of MPCA and MMB. Section 4.2 describes the issues as we understand them now and identifies outstanding questions requiring further investigation to move forward. We recommend MPCA and MMB work together to find answers to the outstanding questions so this barrier can be 27