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Minnkota Power Cooperative 

The Milton R. Young Station is the primary mine-mouth generating facility for Minnkota." Located near the town of Center, N.D., the Young Station consists of two units that are supplied with lignite coal from the adjacent mines of BNI Coal, Ltd. 

Young 1, owned and operated by Minnkota, has a Babcock & Wilcox cyclone-fired boiler coupled to a 250-megawatt (MW) General Electric steam turbine generator. Young 1 began commercial operation on Nov. 20, 1970.

Young 2, which began generating electricity on May 11, 1977, has a Babcock & Wilcox cyclone-fired boiler coupled to a 455-MW Westinghouse turbine generator. Young 2 is owned by Square Butte Electric Cooperative and operated by Minnkota. The output from Young 2 is purchased under contract by Minnkota and Minnesota Power of Duluth, Minn., Minnkota has begun exercising options, beginning in 2006, to purchase up to 50 percent of the Young 2 generation by 2009. In 2013, Minnkota will begin receiving an increasing allocation of the Young 2 generation.

Minnesota Power purchased from Square Butte a 465-mile, Center to Duluth DC transmission line. Minnesota Power will use the transmission line to deliver wind energy that it is developing at the Young Station to its service area near Duluth.
In return, Minnkota receives the increasing allocation of the Young 2 output of energy and capacity. Between 2013 and 2026, Minnesota Power's current 50 percent allocation of Young 2 output will transfer to Minnkota. By 2026 and thereafter, Minnkota will purchase 100 percent of the Young 2 generation.
This will give Minnkota 227.5 megawatts of additional capacity and the related energy. (https://www.minnkota.com/)

The Young Station consistently ranks among the nation's lowest-cost, coal-fired generating plants.

Minnkota Officers

President: Chris Renner
Vice President: Tanner Zimmerman
Secretary / Treasurer: Cheryl Berger

Stewards:

  • Tanner Zimmerman

  • Josh Troyna

Alternate Stewards:

  • Jesse Karabensh

  • Channing Schafer

Safety Committee Members:

  • Coal Handling: Available Operator

  • Lab: Tyler Helfrich

  • Mechanical Maintenance: Devon Larson

  • Operations: Available Operator

  • Technical Maintenance: Aaron Boehm

Labor Management Meeting (LMM) Committee Members:

  • Chris Renner (Technical Maintenance)

  • Channing Schafer (Mechanical Maintenance)

  • Josh Troyna (Technical Maintenance)

  • Tanner Zimmerman (Operations)

  • Dan Schafer (Mechanical Maintenance)

  • Bob Ell (Coal Handling)

  • Available Operator (Operations)

Negotiations Committee:

  • Chris Renner (Technical Maintenance)

  • Tanner Zimmerman (Operations)

  • Josh Troyna (Technical Maintenance)

  • Bob Ell (Coal Handling)

  • Channing Schafer (Mechanical Maintenance)

IBEW Local 1593 Executive Board Member:

  • Jarin Sprecher