Nokomis Energy

The Clean Energy Developer will Model Solutions to Meet Climate Action Plan Goals and Address Recent Interconnection Obstacles

Minneapolis, Minn. – Nokomis Energy, a Minneapolis-based clean energy developer and the City of Northfield, Minn. have announced they are partnering to create a Clean Energy Transition Plan (CETP) aiming to reach the City’s ambitious Climate Action Plan (CAP) goals, which were established in 2019. Northfield, located 40 miles south of Minneapolis, is home to 20,000 residents and two colleges, Carleton College and St. Olaf College. Nokomis Energy will model the community’s electric system to identify specific clean energy projects that once implemented would meet the City’s clean energy goals.

“Our CAP has a big picture goal to have 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030 for the entire community with 10% of that electricity generated within the City,” said Beth Kallestad, Sustainability Program Coordinator for the City of Northfield. “How we get there is less clear. We know that some of it will come from Xcel Energy decarbonizing their grid, but what do we do about the rest of it? Working with Nokomis Energy is going to give clear guidance on the paths we could choose as well as the economic benefits those paths could deliver.”

Adding to the challenges of achieving such ambitious clean energy goals, the City of Northfield has recently encountered issues of grid congestion. Residents and local businesses have been notified of fees in the thousands of dollars to install solar, and years of delays in processing applications, which further complicates the overall approach to clean energy adoption. “We’ve been hearing from people that they are getting hit with huge interconnection fees and long delays in processing applications.  It’s been a year or so of trying to understand what is going on,” said Kallestad. “Working with Nokomis Energy on this modeling project makes a lot of sense. They can help us try to navigate it better than we can do on our own.”

“As cities, municipalities, and local communities continue to lead the transition to cleaner and cheaper sources of electricity they are going to run into challenges that they may not always have the resources or expertise to overcome,” said Brendan Dillon, partner at Nokomis Energy. “By sharing our experience and understanding of the regional clean energy landscape, our goal is to help guide the City of Northfield through the range of available options to implement solutions that will work best for them.”

Nokomis Energy is a clean energy developer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our mission is to identify opportunities to create clean, low-cost energy projects for the people, businesses and communities of the Upper Midwest. We work directly with our customers and partners to implement and build clean energy solutions that work for your specific needs. 

Let’s work together! Contact us to discuss how your business or organization can make the most of the energy transition.