The Midcontinent Independent System Operator on May 27 filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission an Amended and Restated Generator Interconnection Agreement with the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency and interconnecting transmission owner Cedar Falls Utilities in Iowa.
MISO has designated the power agency’s hydroelectric project in Iowa as Project No. J329 in its interconnection queue. On March 4, 2016, MISO filed the original Interconnection Agreement with FERC. On April 21, FERC provisionally accepted it. The Interconnection Studies for the project are now complete. This new Interconnection Agreement removes the provisional status of the Original Agreement.
Said the revised GIA about the planned Red Rock Hydroelectric Project: “Interconnection Customer shall install J329, a 58 MVA hydro facility, rated 55 MW net, with all studies performed at or below these outputs. The Generating Facility is composed of two (2) 29 MVA synchronous generators in a hydro generating facility. The Interconnection Service provided under this agreement is 55 MW of Conditional ERIS that will become a total of 55 MW ERIS and/or NRIS where NRIS cannot exceed 55 MW upon completion of all Network Upgrades identified in this GIA.”
The Point of Interconnection for this project to the grid will be at the Pella West substation. The targeted commercial operation date for the hydro project is Dec. 1, 2017.
Project contact information in the GIA is: Missouri River Energy Services as agent for Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Attn: Director, Power Supply and Operations, 3724 West Avera Drive, P.O. Box 88920, Sioux Falls, SD 57109-8920.
In March 2014, the involved parties announced that the boards of directors of Missouri River Energy Services and Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency had approved moving forward with the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project and that they chose Ames Construction as the general contractor. The project site is at the existing Red Rock Dam along the Des Moines River near Pella, Iowa. With a nameplate capacity of 36.4 MW, it will be the second largest hydroelectric plant in the state of Iowa. At certain times of the year, when water is plentiful, the plant will be capable of generating up to 55 MW.
