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The Public Utilities Commission has granted final approval of the permit to build a solar energy battery storage facility off County Road 14, in the south end of North Branch.  The vote was unanimous in a regular session of the PUC last week.

In discussion leading up to the item, the commission added the mandate for DESRI Renewables LLC to also meet with North Branch firefighters before finalizing the exact location of the access roads.  PUC Commissioner John Tuma asked Jeremy Doerr, legal counsel,  if the addition of input from fire officials was aceptable and the attorney speaking for the permit applicant said it was.

Also, project manager Joel Puritz appearing for DESRI Renewables LLC, stated the project is slated to move ahead in mid- May so the quicker the  permit can be recorded and issued, the better.  “Let’s keep this moving,” he remarked.  

According to permit materials the storage site is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2027.  The state received the application for the site permit in April 2025.  By October the state had received the Environmental Assessment and the Office of Administrative Hearings oversaw public hearings and the administrative law judge issued his conclusions and termed the permit record complete in January 2026.

The capacity of the battery storage permit is a maximum 100 megawatts.  

The development includes cement pads for the multiple battery units which are inside of small housings,  and everything is inside of a fenced area.  The stored power will feed into the region’s power grid via the Xcel substation on County Road 14. The connection between the systems is on existing lines.

Two stormwater ponding sites for run-off are currently drawn in the north and southeast areas of the battery site.  Two access roads are proposed with one to come off County Road 14 at some point and the other from the solar field, adjacent to the east.  The PUC was advised details on road positions will be known prior to pre-construction meetings.

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