pwr_august-2024 - 21

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL GENERATION AWARD
POWER POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ The 45-MW solar array at Pine
Bend is the largest single-use site
of direct solar power in the U.S.,
providing about 92,000 MWh of
electricity annually.
✔ The solar and combined heat and
power (CHP) systems at the refinery
satisfy as much as 70% of Flint
Hills Resources' power needs at
the site, making Pine Bend one of
America's most energy-efficient fuel
producers.
1. The 45-MW solar power array at Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend site in Rosemount, Minnesota,
covers about 200 acres of a 350-acre site adjacent to the refinery. The $75 million project
features 120,000 solar panels. The solar plant provides about 30% of the refinery's power needs
during optimal conditions. Courtesy: Flint Hills Resources
more of these types of projects being
proposed across the U.S., but it's thrilling
to be able to say we were among the
first to do anything like this at this scale.
We are proving that solar is a reliable,
cost-competitive, emission-free source
of power. "
The CHP and solar power systems
have helped Pine Bend improve its energy
efficiency by 10% over the past
five years, putting it into the top quartile
of all U.S. refineries. The refinery has
earned the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's ENERGY STAR certification
for the past five years.
Construction of the project began in
November 2022. The modules for the
solar array were supplied by HT-SAAE,
whose modules are known for their high
power and high reliability. Inverters for
the project came from Ingeteam, a Spanish
group that works in 15 countries and
has more than 80 years of experience in
the electric power sector.
GameChange Solar,
headquartered
in Norwalk, Connecticut, provided the
racking for the system. The company
has sold more than 30 GW of its fixedtilt
racking and tracker equipment, and
earlier this year announced an expansion
of its U.S. manufacturing. The
company has a network of more than
30 manufacturing locations across 16
states.
Reducing Emissions
" Pine Bend is already one of the most
efficient refineries in the country, but we
August 2024 | POWER
are always looking for ways to continuously
transform our business, " said Jake
Reint, Flint Hills' vice president of public
affairs. " As one of the largest-of-its-kind
solar installations, this project is a bold
and exciting opportunity to lower energy
costs, improve our energy efficiency, and
reduce emissions. "
The refinery since 2010 also has
reduced its traditional criteria emissions
by about 70%, and has reduced
greenhouse gases about 10% relative
to production. Other recent enhancements
at the site include the addition
of two modernized cooling towers,
which reduce energy consumption,
and leveraging ammonium thiosulfate
technology, which creates fertilizer
while producing ultra-low-sulfur gasoline
to reduce vehicle emissions.
Pine Bend, with about 1,000 full-time
workers, is one of the largest employers
in Dakota County. Officials said the refinery
directly and indirectly supports 3,400
jobs in Minnesota.
Habitat Management
" Continuous improvement is foundational
to who we are as a company, "
said Reint. " This project is a great example
of how we constantly evolve
and find better ways to produce fuels
and other products people need and
use every day. "
The Pine Bend PV system is considered
the largest such installation for
a single user in the U.S. Along with
providing power for the refinery's opwww.powermag.com
✔
Solar power helps Pine Bend further
reduce emissions associated with
producing fuels and other products,
which are delivered to users across
Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.
erations, it also supports the strategy
of collocating generation at a large energy-consuming
site. This helps avoid
line loss, or electricity that would be
lost as it is being delivered along the
transmission system serving the complex.
" This
largest-of-its kind solar installation
is helping us improve our competitiveness
by lowering our energy costs
and improving our energy efficiency,
making us one of the most energy-efficient
refineries in the nation, " said Geoff
Glasrud, vice president and manufacturing
manager for Flint Hills Resources.
" Solar also helps us further reduce emissions
associated
with
producing
the
fuels
and other essential products we
make that people across the state and
the Upper Midwest rely on every day.
We're proud to be the first refinery and
largest manufacturing facility to utilize
solar at this scale. "
" With this project we are improving
our ability to provide the fuel people
need in a way that will allow us to be
more competitive today and well into
the future, " said Jeff Ramsey, president
and CEO of Flint Hills Resources.
" Our refinery operations are among the
best in the world, and we continue to
innovate and find new and better ways
to produce and deliver the fuel and
other petroleum-derived products that
remain essential to the economy and
modern life. " ■
-Darrell Proctor is a senior associate
editor for POWER.
21

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