Koch Companies Partner to Build Massive Solar Farm to Power Oil Refinery

June 1, 2022 by Dan McCue
Koch Companies Partner to Build Massive Solar Farm to Power Oil Refinery

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – Two Koch companies are partnering to build what they say may be the largest solar installation of its kind in the United States to help power Minnesota’s largest oil refinery.

The Flint Hills’ Pine Bend oil refinery is located in Rosemount, which is about 20 miles to the south of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

According to the website of Koch’s Flint Hills Resources, the refinery supplies most of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in Minnesota and across the Upper Midwest.

Now, Flint Hills Resources and Scottsdale, Arizona-based DEPCOM Power, another Koch company, are partnering to build a $75 million solar farm that is expected to be completed in 2023.


Once completed, the solar farm will be the second source of on-site power for the plant, following the 2019 installation of a combined heat and power system, which provides about 50 MW of electricity to the refinery annually.

“This is an extraordinary project and exciting opportunity to demonstrate how solar can be seamlessly integrated into a large industrial facility with a high, consistent power demand, reliably and at a lower cost than conventional, retail power,” said Justin Bloch, DEPCOM’s president of solar, in a written statement.


“You don’t often see utility-scale projects for a single facility and while this may be the first project of its kind at this scale, it won’t be the last. Distributed solar generation is proving to be a competitive and reliable source of power for many energy-intensive industries,” he said.

The project will also continue Koch’s efforts to lower energy costs, improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from a refinery which has the capacity to produce 375,000 barrels of fuel per day.

In 2020, the Pine Bend refinery earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® certification, signifying that the refinery performs in the top 25% of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.

It was recertified in 2021 and 2022, reducing its emission by 70% over the course of those three years, Flint Hills Resources said in a press release.

The new, 45 MW solar farm will be composed of at least 100,000 panels, the partner companies said. They say they believe the installation will represent the largest direct use of solar power in the U.S. where all of the power being generated is connected directly to a single business.


Once completed, the facility is expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 8,400 homes per year, and has a peak capacity of roughly 30% of the refinery’s power needs during optimal conditions.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue.

A+
a-
  • Depcom Power
  • Flint Hills Resources
  • Koch Companies
  • Minnesota
  • oil refinery
  • solar farm
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Energy

    May 22, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    DOE Awards $42M in Funding to Boost Clean Hydrogen

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy on Monday awarded $42 million in funding for 22 projects in 14 states to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy on Monday awarded $42 million in funding for 22 projects in 14 states to advance technologies critical for producing, storing and deploying clean hydrogen. At the same time, the department announced it is awarding another $17.8 million to establish a... Read More

    May 22, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Federal Judge Upholds Offshore Wind Farm Permits

    BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled against a Nantucket nonprofit trying to block development of a large offshore... Read More

    BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled against a Nantucket nonprofit trying to block development of a large offshore wind farm about 15 miles off the coast of the island and Martha’s Vineyard. In its underlying complaint, the group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines claimed the... Read More

    May 22, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Bayer Makes Idaho Platform for Its Climate Neutral Ambitions

    BOISE, Idaho — Bayer, the global life sciences, health care and nutrition company, has long maintained that it wants its... Read More

    BOISE, Idaho — Bayer, the global life sciences, health care and nutrition company, has long maintained that it wants its operations and those of its entire value chain to be climate neutral and fully fossil-fuel free by 2030 — just seven years from now. Recently the... Read More

    May 22, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Governors Push Bipartisan Plan to Speed Project Permitting

    WASHINGTON — Hoping to speed the development of energy and infrastructure projects, members of the National Governors Association are touting... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Hoping to speed the development of energy and infrastructure projects, members of the National Governors Association are touting a bipartisan plan they say will dramatically streamline the permitting process while maintaining the integrity of reviews. In a joint statement, Utah’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox,... Read More

    Biden Administration Invests in Carbon Capture, Upping Pressure on Industry to Show Results

    The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects in seven states, aiming to reduce... Read More

    The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects in seven states, aiming to reduce planet-warming pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities. The announcement represents a vote of confidence by the government in the nascent technology, which proponents, often... Read More

    May 15, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Oil and Gas Lease Sales Announced in Michigan, Louisiana

    FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Bureau of Land Management on Monday announced that competitive oil and gas lease sales in... Read More

    FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Bureau of Land Management on Monday announced that competitive oil and gas lease sales in Michigan and Louisiana will be held online on Thursday, June 29, 2023.  The agency will offer one parcel in Michigan totaling 40 acres and three parcels... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top