Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Summary
Flint Hills Resources is considering construction of a massive on-site solar plant to generate electricity and lower energy costs at its Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount.
Flint Hills said Tuesday that the 30-megawatt solar development would be among the largest of its kind in the United States where all the power is generated and consumed by a single business.
The company said it has requested bids from select solar companies that specialize in building commercial-scale solar farms and integrating them within established operations.
The solar development would be located west of the refinery on 200 to 300 acres of farmland owned by Flint Hills.
Flint Hills, the fifth largest biofuels producer in the U.S., said a decision on whether to proceed with the project is expected by mid-year.
The Pine Bend refinery supplies most of the transportation fuels used in Minnesota and a significant portion of the fuels used throughout the Upper Midwest. It also produces approximately 10 percent of the nation’s total demand for road and roofing asphalt, and other essential products such as home heating fuels and the raw materials used in the manufacturing of fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and plastics.
With more than 1,000 full-time employees, the refinery is one of the largest employers in Dakota County. It has a capacity of 375,000 barrels per day.
In 2019, the refinery brought on line a Combined Heat and Power system, which produces about 50 megawatts of electricity or roughly 40 percent of what is required to power the refinery’s daily operations. The solar development would provide additional lower cost, highly efficient power that together with the CHP, under optimal conditions, could satisfy more than half of the refinery’s daily power needs, according to Flint Hills.
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