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Balanced Rock Power presents battery storage concept to port authority; requests LOI to pursue interconnection queue
Summary
Developers from Balanced Rock Power presented a utility‑scale battery storage project to the Port Authority, described site and interconnection considerations, and asked for a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI) to secure site control and proceed toward MISO interconnection studies.
Representatives from Balanced Rock Power presented a proposal to develop a utility‑scale battery energy storage project near the Great River Energy substation in the Fergus Falls area and asked the Port Authority for site negotiations and a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI).
Presenters described batteries as large containerized storage systems that charge when excess generation is available and dispatch during peak needs. They said the proposal targets a location adjacent to a substation owned by Great River Energy (sometimes referenced in the discussion), and that interconnection to the MISO transmission system requires site control before developers submit an interconnection application. The presenters said the MISO interconnection queue is filling and that projects entering the queue after a cap could face multi‑year study delays.
Port Authority members and council representatives asked questions about utility engagement (Otter Tail Power and Great River Energy), how many containers the project might require, decommissioning and restoration language, tax assessment and revenue, lease vs. purchase options, and the identity of likely long‑term project investors. Balanced Rock Power representatives said they prefer to secure site control via an LOI, would seek either a purchase or a lease depending on negotiations, can provide decommissioning language (including possible bonding or decommissioning funds), and typically sells the fully permitted project (often to institutional buyers) following development.
Port Authority next steps: developers asked the authority to sign an LOI or indicate which commercial terms would work; port authority members requested the developers provide a draft long‑form agreement for negotiation and noted the importance of outreach to local utilities and to consider buffering/ setbacks to avoid leaving fragmented parcels for future development.
Ending: Developers left the Port Authority with a request to proceed toward a binding agreement; the authority asked for a draft long form and additional clarification about tax and decommissioning arrangements before taking further action.
