On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the Energy Transition in Rural America class visited Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (Wright-Hennepin). Wright-Hennepin is Minnesota’s fourth-largest electric cooperative and is currently celebrating its 85th anniversary as a rural power provider.

On April 19th, the elusive spring sun came out to shine and our Energy Transition in Rural America class went to visit an innovative renewable energy site: Connexus’ solar-plus-storage facility in Ramsey, Minnesota.

On April 12th, our Energy Transition in Rural America class visited Great River Energy’s headquarters in Maple Grove, MN. Embracing the spirit of cooperation among cooperatives, Great River Energy has close relationships with other organizations throughout the country.

On Tuesday, April 5th, the class visited Dakota Electric Association, an electricity distribution cooperative based in Farmington Minnesota serving suburban and rural communities southeast of St. Paul, spanning roughly from “Red Wing to 35W.” The visit featured presentations from several members of Dakota Electric management, who each answered questions from the class and later provided a tour of Dakota Electric’s control room

On March 29th, our Energy Transition in Rural America class visited Great River Energy’s Dickinson Convertor Station in Buffalo, MN. This is one of the nation’s few high-voltage DC-to-AC converter stations, bringing over 1 gigawatt of power from North Dakota to the Twin Cities metro area.

On March 1st, our Energy Transition in Rural America class visited Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC) in Jordan, MN. Located in one of the state’s fastest-growing areas, the co-op provides electricity to 44,250+ members in nine counties in southern Minnesota, spanning 968 square miles.