‘Building a stronger energy system’

Garvin substation, power plant will be part of 185-mile electric transmission line

GARVIN -- Work is now underway for a pair of major energy projects in Lyon County.

A new substation and gas-powered electrical plant near Garvin will help provide reliable energy in Minnesota, representatives of Xcel Energy said Monday.

"These projects that we're here today to celebrate will strengthen reliability, support economic growth, and build a stronger energy system for decades to come," said Bria Shea, president of Xcel Energy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Representatives for Xcel, U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, and officials from Lyon County and area cities were all at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Minnesota Energy Connection power line project, and the Lyon County Generating Station. The 185-mile Minnesota Energy Connection project will run from Becker to Garvin, and connect renewable energy sources in southwest Minnesota to the electric grid.

In addition to the transmission line and Garvin substation, a 420-megawatt natural gas peaking plant will also be built near Garvin. The peaking plant will help provide reliable energy during times of high demand, like during extreme weather or when there is less renewable energy being produced.

"This is the first new gas plant that we have built in 25 years," Shea said.

Shea said the projects will support hundreds of construction jobs, and the gas plant will provide Lyon County with a total of about $300 million in property tax revenue in its lifetime.

Both the Minnesota Energy Connection transmission line project and the Lyon County peaking plant are planned to be completed in 2028, Xcel representatives said. Construction started a couple of months ago, Shea said.

Xcel Energy representatives said the projects are going to help connect renewable energy like wind and solar power to the electric grid. Xcel is in the process of retiring its coal-fired Sherco power plant near Becker, and building a "clean energy hub" that includes renewables, Shea said.

"The energy system of the future is not dependent on any one type of resource," Shea said. "Rather, it's built on having the right mix at the right time, so that we can serve our customers every single hour of every single day, and that is the exact thing that these two projects are going to do."

Fischbach said the Lyon County Generating Station and Minnesota Energy Connection projects were a direct investment in the region's infrastructure and workforce.

"The economic footprint coming into southwest Minnesota is huge. We are looking at a $1.2 billion investment in transmission infrastructure alone," Fischbach said. The projects would generage enough energy to power more than a million homes across Minnesota, she said.

"Beyond the dollars and cents, this comes down to basic grid reliability," Fischbach said. "Our farms, our manufacturing plants, schools, and hospitals depend on uninterrupted electricity," she said.

Growing energy demand came from a range of sources, from residential customers to manufacturing and electric vehicles, Shea said. "Honestly, we're seeing growth in almost every sector of electricity use," she said.

Shea said components of a reliable, affordable and cleaner system included not only wind and solar, but battery storage, nuclear energy, and facilities like the gas peaking plant near Garvin.

"It's really that whole portfolio that we need to continue meeting our customers' demand," he said.

Shea said Xcel Energy was also investing in local education and community organizations in Lyon County. At the groundbreaking, she said the Xcel Energy Foundation contributed $10,000 to the Tracy Area community Foundation to help expand STEM education offerings, and $10,000 to Southwest Minnesota State University for scholarships for students pursuing energy or environmental careers.