2025 NHA Midwest Regional Meeting

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, April 29

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Asset Owner Only Meeting (facilitated by MHUG; all attendees who work for asset owners are welcome)

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch at hotel

1:00 PM – 5:30 PM: In-the-Field Technical Tour right in the center of Minneapolis

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: NHA / MHUG Welcome Networking Reception

Wednesday, April 30

7:00 AM- 7:45 AM: Breakfast

7:45 AM – 4:45 PM: Full Day of Educational Sessions; includes Lunch

4:45 PM – 5:45 PM: Post Event Happy Hour

Session Topics

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Use Cases
• Energy Storage Solutions – What Are the Options? How Can Hydro Contribute?
• Equipment Modernization and Refurbishment
• Equipment Repair: Focus on 100-year-old Camelback Units
• Funding (Loans, Grants, and/or Tax Credits) from the Government
• Innovations – What’s on the Horizon?
• Maintenance of Hydro Facilities
• Regulatory Update

Tour Information

Join us for an exciting afternoon of technical tours featuring visits to:

–Upper St. Anthony Falls Dam and Water Power Park, owned by Xcel Energy

– 13.9-MW Hennepin Island/St. Anthony Falls Hydro Generating Station, owned by Xcel Energy

–750-kW A-Mill Hydro Project, which powers the A-Mill Artist Lofts; owned by Dominium (Accessibility Note: The A-Mill site is not ADA accessible. If you require accommodations, please contact Ellie Rubalow.)

–St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, an interdisciplinary fluid mechanics research lab and educational facility under the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota

Bus transportation, round trip from the Hyatt Regency will be provided; maximum capacity 120 people; sign up for the tour when registering for the Meeting.

If you need to change your RSVP for the tour, please reach out to Ellie Rubalow.

Tour Hosts

St. Anthony Falls Hydro

Owned By:

Waterpower at St. Anthony Falls dates back to the 1820’s when a sawmill and flour mill were constructed on the west side of the river.  The St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company and Minneapolis Mill Company were formed on the east and west sides of the river, respectively in the 1850’s to manage water power rights.  In September 1882, the first hydroelectric generation began at the site of the current lock.  The Main Street plant began operation in 1895 and operated until 1968.  The Hennepin Island plant began operation in 1908, and Xcel Energy continues to operate the plant.

The Minneapolis Mill Company constructed part of the Horseshoe Dam in 1856 on the right bank upstream of the falls.  The St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company later constructed the left portion of the Horseshoe Dam.  The dams diverted water to the mills to power mills.  In 1866, the receding St. Anthony Falls were protected by constructing a wood apron to prevent erosion and upstream migration.  The apron was replaced several times until the current concrete apron was constructed in 1952.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in 1963.  There are several subterranean features at the site as well, including tunnels and a concrete cutoff wall across the entire river under the dam.

Xcel Energy facilities include the 13.9 MW Hennepin Island Hydro Plant, intake canal, Main Street Dam, Hennepin Island Earth Dam, Horseshoe Dam, and the St. Anthony Falls main spillway.  The discontinued Main Street plant still stands at the site.  Hennepin Island features Waterpower Park which highlights the history of waterpower at the site and provides overlooks to the dam structures and river.

St. Anthony Falls Laboratory

The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) is an interdisciplinary fluid mechanics research lab and educational facility under the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Located on the Mississippi River in the heart of Minneapolis, SAFL serves as a resource for departments across the Twin Cities campus, the statewide University system, and broader research and practitioner communities. Our research uses physical, numerical, and field research to explore problems in fluid dynamics, hydrology, environmental restoration, hydropower and other low-carbon energy technologies, and earth surface dynamics. Visitors will learn about SAFL’s expansive 86 -year history, view ongoing research, and see how our facility integrates into the deeper history of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.

A-Mill Hydro Project

Owned By: 

Hosted By:

The Pillsbury A-Mill is a former flour mill located on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the world’s largest flour mill for 40 years. Completed in 1881, it was owned by the Pillsbury Company and operated two of the most powerful direct-drive waterwheels ever built, each capable of generating 1,200 horsepower (895 kW). In 1901 one of the turbines was replaced with a 2,500 horsepower turbine. Both the mill and its headrace tunnel are contributing resources to the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill is also independently on the NRHP. The mill was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and has since been converted into resident artist lofts.

The Design-Build project rehabilitated the original hydromechanical power infrastructure built in 1881 as part of the Pillsbury A-Mill facility into a run-of-river 600-kW hydroelectric power facility. The project included State and Federal permit acquisition, FERC licensing, and historical review by the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Minnesota Historical Society.  ECI managed the development of construction plans and specifications and construction of the new hydroelectric power facility, which consisted of the following:

National Sponsors