Powering Your Future
MRES is committed to providing members and communities with efficient, cost-effective, reliable and ever-increasing clean energy. We’ve built a diverse portfolio of generation resources to reduce risk, increase reliability and focus on environmental stewardship. We work hard every day to find balanced solutions that will meet the electrical needs of our members and the thousands of customers they serve across our four-state service area.
Learn more about MRES, including our mission and vision.
Brookings Solar Project
MRES was recently granted a conditional use permit for the construction of the Brookings Solar Project. The permit allows MRES to move forward with plans to build a 5-megawatt (MW) solar facility near the member community of Brookings, South Dakota. The project will generate enough energy to power approximately 1,100 homes annually.
The project is being financed through the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, which finances the construction and acquisition of the generation and transmission facilities MRES uses to serve all 61 of its members.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 6, 2024, and construction began soon after. The project’s anticipated completion date is late 2025.
Toronto Power Plant
MRES is currently evaluating the feasibility of building a relatively small, 145-MW natural gas plant near Toronto, South Dakota, aimed at ensuring the delivery of reliable, cost-effective and long-term energy solutions to meet the demands of electric consumers. The project is currently in the design phase.
As coal plants phase out of use and more renewable energy generation is utilized, the Toronto Power Plant will provide a fast power ramp-up to maintain reliability.
PROPOSED PROJECT COMPONENTS:
- 145-MW reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE)
- Approximately 4-mile 345 kV transmission line
- Gas pipeline connection
- Substation connection in the regional energy market
Developing and constructing a power plant is a multi-year effort. We are gathering public feedback on the power plant to help us develop the project and associated transmission and gas lines. We’ll continue coordinating with landowners, local governments, agencies, and other stakeholders throughout the project development.
Current Status:
The Missouri River Energy Services held a public open house for the project on June 11, 2024.
- Information boards
- Overview handout (linked PDF)
- Map
In mid-June, the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (WMMPA) filed a Notification of Intent (NOI) to apply for a permit for construction of an energy conversion facility, which is the proposed Toronto Power Plant. The NOI was filed with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. WMMPA finances the construction and acquisition of the generation and transmission facilities for Missouri River Energy Services.
Click on the link below to track this submission on the SD PUC website.
If you have questions about the Toronto Power Plant, connect with our team by email at connect@torontopowerplant.com or call us at 605-977-7775.
Energy Sources
Fifty-nine of our 61 members receive an allocation of hydropower from the dams on the Missouri River, and they purchase, on average, about 40% of their energy needs from the federal government’s Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). MRES meets their remaining power supply needs with our diverse and reliable energy sources below.
Creating a Clean and Resilient Energy Future
Creating a clean and resilient energy future is a top priority for MRES and our members, and we are delivering affordable, reliable, and ever-increasing clean energy to our members and their customers.
For nearly two decades, MRES has added renewable and carbon-free resources to our power supply mix, including nuclear, wind and solar resources. In addition, MRES built a new hydroelectric power plant — the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project — near the member community of Pella, Iowa, that began commercial operation in June 2021.
Bright Energy Choices
For many years, a wide range of “green energy” programs were developed and offered by electric utilities. As these programs have matured, there has been increased regulatory guidance on how utilities and their customers may make claims regarding the renewable or carbon-free nature of the energy they consume.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, MRES revised its Bright Energy Choices program, which was launched in 2020, to align with current guidance and give our local member utilities and their customers an easy, affordable way to increase their use of renewable and carbon-free energy. Through this program, utilities and retail customers can purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), directly supporting clean energy and helping reduce the community’s carbon footprint.
A REC is a digital certificate created when 1 megawatt-hour (1,000 kWh) of electricity is generated by a qualifying renewable facility — such as hydro, wind or solar generator — and fed into the electric grid. Each REC is assigned a serial number so it can be tracked. These certificates have value and can be bought and sold.
RECs represent environmental attributes, but not the energy itself. In fact, RECs and energy are separate products and are often purchased and sold separately. To claim a specific percentage of renewable energy use, corresponding RECs must be “retired,” meaning they cannot be used again.
MRES retires RECs in our members’ names, as directed by
members. Members participating in the program receive a
report each spring detailing the RECs retired on their behalf.