LREC Awarded Funding to Develop 2.4 MW Solar Array

Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) has received funding from the USDA to develop a local 2.4 MW solar project, LREC CEO Tim Thompson announced today.

An application for the funding was submitted in a consortium with other Great River Energy (GRE) co-ops and comes as a portion of a $794M federal investment awarded to GRE last week through Empowering Rural America (New ERA), a program within the USDA created to help rural Americans transition to clean energy and part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden in 2022.

As planned, the 2.4 MW solar array will operate on a single-axis tracker to maximize production with connection to LREC’s existing grid, thereby reducing any interconnection cost. Upon completion, energy generated by this array will act as a hedge against inflation and future wholesale power cost increases.

LREC engaged in a roughly year-long process of interviewing and receiving proposals from multiple solar developers before selecting Minneapolis-based Nokomis Energy to assist with future next steps. Established in 2017, clean energy-focused Nokomis has experience in partnering with other communities throughout the state to develop solar programs, including the City of Farmington, Faribault Public Schools and the Waite Park Community Solar Garden project scheduled to begin in 2026. Expertise in maintaining arrays in our cold climate was also a contributing factor in the decision.

Once development and construction are complete, LREC will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the energy generated by this project, rather than owning the solar array. Entering into a PPA mitigates any risks of the array not preforming as expected, as LREC will only pay for the energy generated by the solar array.

LREC is currently working on finalizing all contracts and will share additional information as soon as it becomes available.