St. Paul geothermal project asks for RDA funds to close early-stage gap; senators seek more cost and savings detail

Senate File 4730, presented to the committee on March 25, would make Renewable Development Account funds available to accelerate construction of a district-scale geothermal system serving a mixed-use redevelopment called the Heights in St. Paul.

Steve Ranback, identified in committee testimony as vice president of business development for Evergreen Energy, said the project's geothermal system is intended to provide carbon-free heating and cooling to about 850 multifamily residential units plus light industrial customers. He told the committee that initial construction has financing in place but that early-stage work (wellfield design and initial drilling) faces a funding gap of approximately $1 million; a further roughly $2 million would be needed to support later well-field build-out. Ranback said the project must serve at least one customer by Sept. 30, 2028, to meet federal tax-credit deadlines tied to the Inflation Reduction Act.

Senators pressed for clarity. Senator Eric and others warned that saying the funding "creates hundreds of jobs" overstates the immediate effect of the $3 million request, noting the development work is already underway and the RDA funds would accelerate—not by themselves create—the broader project jobs. Senator Green asked for specific system sizing, footprint and long-term savings estimates; Ranback and project representatives said they would follow up with more detailed cost and lifetime savings information and that other funds and green-bank financing have been used for preconstruction work.

Opponents were not recorded in the committee transcript, but some senators expressed concern about using RDA or ratepayer-linked funds for early-stage development and urged rigorous vetting and accountability. The committee laid the bill over for further consideration and follow-up questions about cost estimates and funding sources.

Next steps recorded in the hearing include follow-up by the project team with detailed cost estimates, system capacity and expected lifetime energy-cost savings for the committee to review.