Minnesota’s largest coal plant goes solar: Sherco Solar comes online

Xcel Energy has started delivering clean energy from one of the US’s largest solar farms: Sherco Solar in Minnesota. It’s a major step in the utility’s push to ditch coal and move to renewable energy across the Upper Midwest.

Sherco Solar, which recently began generating power, will eventually have a massive capacity of 710 megawatts (MW). The first part of the project is already pumping 220 MW of affordable solar electricity into the grid, with the next two phases expected to go online in 2025 and 2026.

The solar farm is being built on the site of the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco), Minnesota’s largest coal-fired power plant. Xcel Energy plans to retire all three of Sherco’s coal units by 2030, with the first one already offline. Once fully operational, Sherco Solar will generate enough electricity to power around 150,000 homes, replacing a significant chunk of the coal power that’s being phased out.

What’s notable about Sherco Solar is not just its size but also its cost efficiency. It’ll be the cheapest solar power on Xcel’s Upper Midwest grid, and the company is taking full advantage of federal tax credits to bring those savings to its customers. Sherco Solar is expected to cost around $1.1 billion, but it will qualify for about $480 million in federal tax credits – all of which Xcel says it’s passing on to its customers.

The solar project is also making use of the existing grid connections from the coal plant, which helps speed up the timeline and save money. “With Sherco Solar, we’re maximizing the benefits of the clean energy transition for our customers,” said Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Sherco Solar is creating 400 union construction jobs and 12 permanent jobs for ongoing operations and maintenance. Plus, it’s set to bring about $350 million in economic benefits to the local community as the coal plant phases out.

And there’s more on the horizon: Earlier this month, Xcel started work on a long-duration battery storage project at Sherco with Form Energy, and they’ve proposed even more battery projects for the site. Xcel is also looking to expand Sherco Solar by another 200 MW in a fourth phase of the project.

The utility is committed to ensuring a smooth transition for Sherco’s workers. Xcel has a strong track record of closing or repurposing coal plants without layoffs, and it’s promising jobs to any Sherco employees who want to stay on board.

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