Elsewhere in Minnesota, power customers have built large solar arrays of their own. Flint Hills Resources built a 45-megawatt solar project that directly powers its oil refinery in Rosemount. Flint Hills struck a deal with Xcel Energy for the refinery to run the array.
The Prairie Island Indian Community built a 5.4-megawatt solar project for its casino as part of a $46.2 million state grant for the tribe to reach net-zero carbon emissions. In that case, Dakota Electric Association and Great River Energy contracted with the tribe to buy power from the solar farm.
Colin Larson, left, a journeyman with Wolf River Electric, and Nickolaus Beinke, an apprentice, work on pulling the “home run” cables along the solar panels to connect all the circuits together near the Prairie's Edge Casino Resort in Granite Falls, Minn., on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Earlier this year, the Upper Sioux and Minnesota Valley met for a one-day mediation that went nowhere, according to the tribe.
In May, the tribe filed its complaint with the PUC asking them to prevent Minnesota Valley from shutting off its power and contending such a move would be illegal.
At first, Minnesota Valley stated in a Dec. 5 letter that it would disconnect “Upper Sioux (and its affiliates — i.e. Casino).” On Tuesday, Upper Sioux leaders said Minnesota Valley later clarified it would just cut off the casino complex.
The casino has “redundancy built in” if they lose power, Jensvold said, but did not say more when asked about the potential impact on the tribe.