The Great River Energy board of directors approved a contract extension for a subsidiary to operate a prominent waste-to-energy facility owned by Hennepin County and located in Minneapolis.
GRE HERC Services, LLC, will continue operating the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) through Dec. 31, 2025.
HERC is an important waste management facility in the Twin Cities. About 75 percent of the waste delivered to HERC comes from Minneapolis; the remaining 25 percent comes from suburban Hennepin County.
"We are honored by the trust Hennepin County has shown by extending the contract for us to operate this important waste-to-energy plant," said Great River Energy Vice President and Chief Generation Officer Rick Lancaster. GRE HERC Services, LLC, assumed operations of HERC on March 3, 2018.
"This agreement will help us keep electric rates affordable for our member-owner cooperatives, will keep 365,000 tons of garbage out of landfills each year and will therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Lancaster added.
HERC burns garbage from homes and businesses to produce steam, which is used to generate electricity for 25,000 homes and provide heating and cooling for 100 downtown buildings and Target Field. HERC is one part of the county's integrated waste management system that emphasizes waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting. The county's goal is to send zero waste to landfills by 2030.
