Trump administration reinstates $50 million grant to Minnesota Power – Duluth News Tribune
'BEST OF THE BEST' NOMINATIONS OPEN
Sponsored By
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
DULUTH — The Trump administration reinstated a federal grant to Minnesota Power, just months after terminating it and hundreds of other grants to blue states that it called “Green New Scam funding.”
The $50 million grant, awarded by the Biden administration, is meant to help offset the cost of the Duluth-based utility company’s more than $900 million upgrade of an aging high-voltage, direct-current transmission line linking Hermantown and central North Dakota.
ADVERTISEMENT
The U.S. Department of Energy revoked it in early October amid the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than 300 grants totaling nearly $8 billion across 16 states that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
But in a March letter to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Lori Hoyum, Minnesota Power’s rates compliance administrator, said the Department of Energy reinstated the grant that month after the company appealed the termination and worked with congressional delegations from both Minnesota and North Dakota to highlight its importance.
Minnesota Power letter to PUC by Duluth News Tribune
“We appreciate the recognition of the Minnesota (and) North Dakota congressional delegations and the Administration of the importance of this project to ensure grid reliability and resiliency while also mitigating costs for our customers,” Minnesota Power spokesperson Amy Rutledge said in a statement Friday.
The Department of Energy did not respond to the News Tribune’s requests for comment.
After years of planning, work on upgrading the 465-mile HVDC transmission line stretching from Center, North Dakota, to Hermantown began last year. It was built in 1977 and acquired by the company in 2009. The project would boost the transmission line’s capacity from 500 to 900 megawatts, while also readying it for further upgrades to reach 1,500 megawatts or more.
The project includes the construction of HVDC converter stations and the Minnesota and North Dakota interconnection facilities.
In October, the project’s federal grant was included on a list of grants the Department of Energy said it would terminate.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Following a thorough, individualized financial review, DOE determined that these projects did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars,” the Department of Energy said in an Oct. 1 announcement.
Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled. More info to come from @ENERGY.
The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA
Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget director, posted on X about the terminations at the time.
“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being canceled,” he said
The termination list included $464 million to the Minnesota Department of Commerce (in partnership with the Great Plains Institute and grid operators Southwest Power Pool and Midcontinent Independent System Operator) to support five Midwest transmission projects.
The state agency said last month that the Department of Energy had confirmed it would honor that grant.
“Minnesotans depend on reliable and affordable electricity every day — during summer heat, winter storms and everything in between,” said Department of Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. “This funding helps strengthen the grid that families and businesses rely on while reducing costs that could otherwise fall more heavily on consumers. It is an important investment in the long-term reliability and affordability of our energy system.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
