Nemadji Substation

Location:  Superior, Wisconsin

Areas of Expertise: Substation

Hooper’s Electric Power Division constructed a new substation for Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power (SWL&P) in Superior, Wisconsin. Originally scheduled to start in 2018, the Nemadji Substation project faced many delays and changes to its design. The EPD team displayed flexibility and a high level of collaboration to meet the customer’s needs and expectations over four years.

The scope of the Nemadji Substation evolved and faced approvals from both Wisconsin and Minnesota regulatory agencies. The original design was a four-position, 115kV switchyard with future expansion plans that included a 14kV feeder. Ultimately, the schedule delays resulted in the utility company’s decision to expand the project to a full substation build.

Hooper worked with the utility team to make sure resources were available and ready to mobilize when needed. Land procurement issues caused the start date to slip to November of 2019. The substation pad and foundation for the control building were constructed so the delivery of the control building could stay on schedule before the project was scheduled to resume in the spring of 2020. Then, just as work was set to ramp up, the pandemic hit, and SWL&P decided to suspend construction until 2021. When the go-ahead was given this year, project work resumed at full speed with substation construction moving forward and successfully completed in December.

The population in the area has grown in the last 10 to 20 years. The Nemadji Substation will provide added reliability to the electrical infrastructure in the region and its customers.