MARSHALL — The route for a new 345-kilovolt transmission line running from Sherburne County to southern Lyon County isn’t finalized yet, but Xcel Energy is in the process of narrowing down its options. Community members got a look at updated route maps during an open house event in Marshall on Monday.

“We’re really asking for feedback on these,” said Xcel spokesperson Randy Fordice. Xcel would be gathering public feedback on the proposed transmission line routes through the end of July, he said.

The Minnesota Energy Connection project proposed by Xcel Energy would connect a substation in Becker with a planned new substation in Lyon County. The project comes as Xcel plans to shut down the coal-fired Sherco power plant and switch to using renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Fordice said Xcel had received around 500 comments since holding open house events on the project in March. That feedback was used to help narrow down areas being studied for the transmission line. For example, he said, Xcel has removed the routes of existing CapX2020 transmission lines from consideration for the Minnesota Energy Connection project. Landowners said they wouldn’t be able to support two large transmission lines next to each other.

“People told us that’s too much of a burden,” he said.

The updated possible routes were displayed on maps set up at Monday’s open house event.

In Lyon County, the maps included possible transmission line routes to the east and to the west of Marshall.

Fordice said the area Xcel was looking at to build its new substation has also been narrowed down considerably. Earlier this spring, the study area for a substation included most of southern Lyon County. Now, the study is focused on an area of land running from north of Balaton, southeast to the Lyon/Murray County border south of Tracy.

Xcel plans to file a route permit application for the Minnesota Energy Connection project later this year. Construction could potentially start in 2026.

Fordice said the proposed route for the project could still change as Xcel continues through the permit process. He encouraged people to watch for potential route updates.

In addition to Monday’s open house, area residents can also learn more about the project through virtual events on June 20. There will be virtual open houses at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., Xcel Energy said. The link to the virtual open house will be posted at http://www.mnenergyconnection.com.

A draw for wind energy projects

Factors like the planned transmission line project, and Minnesota’s push to have carbon-free electricity by 2040, have helped draw renewable energy companies’ attention to southwest Minnesota in the past couple of years.

Hamzah Khan, renewable project developer with Invenergy, said Monday that the company was planning a wind energy center in the region.

“We’re very excited as a company,” he said. Khan was among the crowd attending the open house event in Marshall.

Invenergy has wind and other energy projects around the country, according to the company website. Wind projects in Minnesota and the Dakotas include wind farms in Freeborn County, and Deuel County, S.D.

Khan said Invenergy is in the process of working with area residents to secure land for the Purple Skies Wind Energy Center. According to the project website, they’re looking at land in an area stretching roughly from Ghent south to Lake Shetek, and from Walnut Grove in the east to parts of Lincoln and Pipestone counties in the west. The company has a local office in Tyler, spokespeople said Monday.

Khan said the goal for the Purple Skies wind energy project was to begin construction in 2027. The energy capacity of the project, as well as the size and number of wind turbines, will be determined by a number of factors, he said.