Public input sought on major powerline proposed for southwest Minnesota

The public has more chances this week to weigh in on a proposed high-voltage transmission line in southwestern Minnesota. 

Xcel Energy wants to build the roughly 170-mile power line from Garvin in Lyon County to Becker in central Minnesota. 

Dubbed the Minnesota Energy Connection, it would carry renewable energy and connect to the electrical grid at a substation near the Sherco coal-fired power plant, which Xcel plans to retire.

It’s one of several transmission lines utilities are proposing to build across Minnesota to aid with the state’s shift away from generating electricity through fossil fuels toward renewable sources such as solar and wind. A state law requires utilities to get 100 percent of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040.

Xcel spokesperson Theo Keith said the transmission line “will help us take a major step toward a carbon-free electricity future” by allowing Xcel to connect up to 4,000 megawatts of wind and solar energy to the grid.

The state Public Utilities Commission is accepting comments on the project until Nov. 25. The commission is expected to decide in March whether to approve a certificate of need and route permit for the project.

Will Seuffert, executive secretary of the PUC, said public input can make a significant difference in the final project and route.

“While the public process is really meant for the agencies that ultimately have to approve the project, the applicant also participates,” he said. “They’re going to listen to the public, and they make adjustments to the line based on what they hear from the public.”

When the PUC reviewed the project over the summer, it directed staff to study 63 route alternatives, Seuffert said.

“Those come directly from members of the public and other agencies that participate in the project and tell us how we can move the line around, how we can address community impacts, local impacts,” he said.

Among those weighing in are officials in Renville County. Randy Kramer, the county board chairperson, said one of the two proposed routes would cut through farmland.

“That’s not particularly conducive to farming, because we have large equipment, and you’ve got to farm around them,” Kramer said. He said the county’s position is “if you come, we’d like you to stay in our rights of way along our roads.”

Public hearings on the Minnesota Energy Connection project are scheduled for Wednesday Nov. 6 in Granite Falls and Olivia, and Thursday, Nov. 7 in Marshall and Redwood Falls. Meetings were held last week in Monticello, Litchfield and Kimball.

Following the hearings, an administrative law judge will issue a recommendation. The PUC is expected to decide in March whether to approve a certificate of need and route permit.

If it’s approved, construction on the project would begin in 2026 and be completed in 2028.

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