US-based utilities company Xcel Energy has secured approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to expand the Sherco Solar project in Minnesota, US.
The Commission’s permit will allow Xcel Energy to add the 250MW Sherco Solar 3 project to the 460MW solar power project that is already under construction.
Through the expansion, Xcel Energy will invest an additional $406m in the Sherco Solar project, bringing the company’s total investment in the American solar power project to over $1bn.
The project is located near the Sherco coal-fired power plant in Becker.
According to Xcel Energy, the 710MW of solar generation is expected to replace the capacity of the coal plant’s first unit that is slated to end service later this year.
The solar project will produce enough electricity to power over 150,000 households annually on average across Xcel Energy’s Upper Midwest system.
Besides, the Sherco Solar project will generate approximately 400 union construction jobs. It will also add an estimated $350m in local economic benefits, which will come from payments to be made to local governments and landowners.
The Sherco Solar 3 project’s next step is to secure a site permit from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which is expected by fall 2024.
Xcel Energy – Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota president Chris Clark said: “We thank the Commission, Minnesota Department of Commerce and labour partners for their support of our solar portfolio.
“Sherco Solar will provide the lowest-cost solar on our Upper Midwest system, and these projects demonstrate our focus on clean energy without compromising affordability.”
The Minnesota utilities regulator has also approved the plan to purchase power from the 100MW Apple River Solar project in northwestern Wisconsin. The project’s developer is National Grid Renewables.
The Apple River Solar facility is projected to create 150 union construction jobs and provide $4m in local tax payments.
Both Sherco Solar 3 and Apple River Solar will mitigate carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 140,000 tons per year and 2.8 million tons cumulatively over the project lifetime, as per the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Chair Katie Sieben said: “As the state transitions to resources that emit less carbon, Sherco Solar will be a critical project to ensuring Xcel continues to provide reliable power to Minnesotans.”
Separately, Xcel Energy announced that it received a grant of up to $70m from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to partly finance two long duration energy storage systems located in Minnesota and Colorado.
