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<br /> Nestled near the center of Shakopee, Minnesota, is the Minnesota Municipal Power
<br /> Agency's (MMPA's) Shakopee Energy Park. The plant, a 46-MW natural gas-fueled
<br /> reciprocating engine facility, powers the city of 40,000 and contributes to the overall
<br /> power supply of 11 other MMPA member communities.
<br /> Abby L. Harvey
<br /> To address growing power needs in a that we were up and running because they facility, and three natural gas facilities, in-
<br /> Minneapolis suburb, Minnesota Mu- didn't hear a thing," John Crooks, Shako- eluding the Shakopee plant.A solar installa-
<br /> nicipal Power Agency(MMPA)had to pee Public Utilities manager,said.The facil- tion is currently under development as well.
<br /> get creative. The utility not only wanted to ity uses silencers on each engine and it was The development of the plant is the re-
<br /> add clean,efficient generation to its portfo- constructed using sound absorbing building suit of a successful team effort.The plant is
<br /> Ho,but also,due to the plant's intended loca- supplies to prevent noise from reaching the owned by MMPA.The agency is composed
<br /> tion embedded in the community,the utility surrounding community. of 12 Minnesota member municipal utili-
<br /> had to make several other considerations.The This is just one of the reasons the Sha- ties including the cities of Anoka, Arling-
<br /> plant needed to be attractive and run quietly. kopee Energy Park is one of POWER's top ton,Brownton,Buffalo,Chaska,East Grand
<br /> "Shakopee Energy Park [SEP] is part of natural gas plants for 2017. Forks, Elk River, Le Sueur, North St. Paul,
<br /> MMPA's commitment to clean, efficient Olivia, Shakopee, and Winthrop. SEP sup-
<br /> power generation," said Derick Dahlen, At a Glance ports the overall power supply of the agency.
<br /> president and CEO of MMPA's management The Shakopee Energy Park uses five 9.3-MW MMPA is managed by Avant Energy,a Min-
<br /> partner Avant Energy. "We wanted to make Wartsila fast-start, fuel-efficient reciprocat- neapolis-based energy management corn-
<br /> sure SEP fit aesthetically into the community ing engines to produce energy for the MMPA pany with years of experience in the electric
<br /> and wouldn't cause noise issues for people member communities. Using this fast-start power industry.
<br /> who live nearby. We spent a considerable technology, the plant can start up in just a Shakopee Public Utilities (SPU) designed
<br /> amount of time designing the building to en- few minutes, making the plant an important and constructed the infrastructure for the
<br /> sure neighbors wouldn't hear the gensets,and complement to intermittent renewables. plant's interconnection to SPU's substation and
<br /> we've been very pleased with the results." MMPA's energy portfolio currently con- also provided support during commissioning.
<br /> MMPA did such a good job designing the sists of 17% renewable energy generation, Wartsila provided the engines, liquefied
<br /> plant to operate in the center of the commu- with an intention to increase to 25%renew- natural gas (LNG) tank, and aided in corn-
<br /> nity that "[w]hen speaking with residents, ables by 2025. The group's portfolio cur- missioning activities. Greystone Construe-
<br /> I've been told that they did not even know rently includes two wind farms, a biomass tion provided building construction services,
<br /> 32 www.powennag.com PQWNRI September2017
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