Power Plant Transition in Host Communities (CLOSED)

The study's findings and conclusions included the following:

• Power plant closures will undoubtedly have a strong economic and financial impact on the communities that host them, and potentially, other Minnesota communities as well.
• Host communities are currently pursuing a variety of strategies to plan and prepare for power plant closures and the economic transition that they will require. None of those preparation strategies are expected to fully offset the economic impact of a plant closure, but they may help mitigate the negative effects. 
• Workers, labor unions, and host communities may benefit from close coordination and communication in plant closure transition planning and preparation efforts. 
• Not all of Minnesota’s host communities receive benefits from the power plant they host.

The University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business recently published a complementary economic modeling study on the impact of power plant closures on host communities. Download it here.

Why this research was needed

Minnesota’s energy economy is evolving, new renewable technologies are emerging, and much of our current electric infrastructure is reaching retirement age. As a result, the sources of our energy will change — retiring power plants will not necessarily be replaced with new ones — and that will affect the economies of the communities who host retiring plants. Communities that are home to large power plants receive a large portion of their tax base, economic vitality, and local jobs from the plants. As Minnesota moves away from central, fossil fuel plants, these host communities face an unprecedented transition.

This study sought to illustrate the impact of this shift on six Minnesota communities that host power plants. Collectively, these six communities host approximately 3,800 MW of coal and 1,700 MW of nuclear generation. The five power plants in these communities generate approximately 70% of Minnesota's current electricity supply.