MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 16, 2023) – Xcel Energy is proposing to upgrade nearly 100 miles of transmission line in Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, allowing the company to deliver more low-cost renewable energy to electric customers throughout the Upper Midwest while saving customers millions of dollars a year.
This week, the company filed a Certificate of Need application with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to install a second circuit on two segments of the existing Brookings County-Hampton transmission line. The new second circuit will run between Brookings, South Dakota and Marshall, Minnesota and Scott and Dakota counties in Minnesota. Xcel Energy is leading the permitting and construction efforts.
“This project allows us to use existing infrastructure to decrease congestion on our transmission system while limiting the impact to landowners in the area,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “It will bring low-cost, renewable wind energy to millions of homes and businesses, allowing us to further reduce carbon emissions with a focus on meeting customers’ energy needs reliably and affordably.”
The transmission project will provide additional capacity to relieve congestion on the grid, allowing more low-cost wind power from southwest Minnesota and eastern South Dakota to reach customers throughout the region. Wind energy does not have any fuel costs and contributes to a diversified energy mix, which helps protect against rising fuel prices and saves customers money. The project supports the company’s vision of delivering 100% carbon-free electricity in Minnesota by 2040 to meet the state’s new clean energy standards.
Most of the proposed project will not require changes to the existing transmission line route, which began operation in 2015 as part of the CapX2020 project, a joint project with several other utilities. At that time, the Public Utilities Commission and CapX2020 companies agreed there would likely be a need for new transmission in the future. As a result, the project team constructed the middle portion of the line between Lyon and Scott counties with two circuits and built the western and eastern segments as “double circuit capable.” This allowed the companies to meet customers’ energy needs at the time while anticipating growing energy demand in the future.
The new second circuit would be placed on existing transmission structures and run approximately 60 miles from the Brookings County substation near White, South Dakota to the Lyon County substation near Marshall, Minnesota. A second 39-mile segment would run between the Helena substation in Scott County, Minnesota and the Hampton substation in Dakota County, Minnesota.
The Public Utilities Commission will review Xcel Energy’s proposal, a process that generally takes up to one year and includes opportunities for input from customers, landowners and other key stakeholders. If the state approves the project, the company expects to start installing the new circuit in 2024 and finish the project in 2025.
The project will have far-reaching congestion relief benefits and is expected to include investment by Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Great River Energy, Missouri River Energy Services and Otter Tail Power Company.
Adding transmission to meet customers’ needs
The Brookings Second Circuit project is one of many examples of how Xcel Energy and other Minnesota utilities are planning for future energy needs in the Upper Midwest. As the amount of wind energy in the Upper Midwest has increased, wind farms are now providing more energy than the transmission grid can reliably deliver to customers. This causes congestion in the transmission system, like a traffic jam on a highway. Adding transmission capacity will open access for more low-cost renewable energy to reach customers.
Xcel Energy’s proposed Minnesota Energy Connection is a separate project that would connect wind resources in southwest Minnesota with the company’s current infrastructure at the Sherco plant in Becker. The company is also in the planning stages for $1 billion in additional transmission work approved by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO.
Learn more about the Brookings Second Circuit project, including maps of the project area and an opportunity to provide feedback.
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About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
