Storing the sun’s energy for you
Storing solar energy in a battery. An idea that just a few years ago would not have been economic. But, today Connexus Energy is turning it into reality. Welcome to a new energy future as construction begins this summer on Connexus Energy’s innovative new solar plus battery storage project.
“We’ve listened to our members who tell us they want more renewable energy but they do not want their electricity to cost more,” says Connexus CEO Greg Ridderbusch. “We get it. With prices coming down for solar, we’ve found a way to accomplish that. We are building two more solar arrays in Ramsey and Athens Township. These will add 10 megawatts of renewables to our energy mix. However, what makes this project unique is that we’re integrating large scale battery storage at both sites.”
Brian Burandt, VP Power Supply, says Connexus has found an innovative way to make solar energy more valuable by using batteries. “Energy prices differ throughout the day. They increase when people come home from work in the evenings and really spike on extreme temperature days.” Most solar energy is produced when there is lower demand and the price is lower. Says Burandt, “Our plan is to discharge the stored solar energy during peak hours when energy costs are the highest. We refer to this as time-shifting solar energy to a time of day when it has more value.”
The Ramsey and Athens Township solar arrays with the integrated battery storage are expected to be in service before the end of the year.
Coming in August!
2018 scholarship recipients
Connexus Energy invests in the education of our youth. In 2018, we donated $58,000 to our local high schools for their scholarship programs. Congratulations to all the grads!
Andover High School Josie Berg | Jessica Lysne | Jared Vidervol | Jian Zheng
Anoka High School Martha Labine | Terra Lieser | Maxwell Lowse | Breanna Rola
Becker High School Allison Schmidt | Weston Schug
Big Lake High School Dalton Chouinard | Angela Johnson | Hannah Kuhlow | Makayla Mullen
Blaine High School Mackenzie Allen | Griffin Nelson | Ben Olson | Margaret Wehr
Cambridge-Isanti Madalynn Carlson | Jacob Nelson | Alyson Niebur
Centennial High School Rachel Garofalo | Reily Haney | Christina Monroe
Champlin Park High School Nicholas Catlett | Benjamin Hoffman | Allison Kelley
Coon Rapids High School Dylan Lee | Gael Ntambwe | Bryce Peterson | Nathan Reineccius
Elk River High School Alexandra Ditter | Kelsie Hoffmann | Matthew Syverson
Forest Lake High School Donovan Bohn | Mitchell Conley
Ivan Sand Community School Connor Hass
Legacy Christian Academy Sidney Manske | Jadyn Nelson
Pact Charter School Lauren Conradi
Princeton High School Jaden Faddler | Wyatt Lawrence
Spectrum High School Erin Bozich
Spring Lake Park High School Avery Bentrott | Theresa Drexler | Maida Fazlic
St. Francis Christian School Ali Koel
St. Francis High School Jake Buchanan | Hannah McCann | Lindsey Pavey
STEP Alternative High School Linea Her | Kendra Olsen
White Bear Lake High School Ngan Dao | Victoria Linssen | Malorie Miller
Zimmerman High School Brendan Dahl | Thomas Haupert
If you are interested in applying for a Connexus Energy scholarship, please contact your high school directly.
Co-op cuisine
Pink Lemonade Dessert
Ingredients:
60 Ritz crackers
3/4 cup melted butter
9 oz tub Cool Whip
1 14 oz can Eagle sweetened condensed milk
1 small can frozen pink lemonade
Preparation:
Mix cracker crumbs with butter. Press into 9 x 13 pan. Fold together Cool Whip, sweetened milk, and partly thawed lemonade. Spread over cracker crumbs. Chill and serve.
