(KNSI) – Part of the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker will shut down for good before 2024.
Xcel Energy will retire Sherco Unit 2 on New Year’s Eve. In an email sent to KNSI News, Xcel says the move is part of the company’s exit from burning coal. The power proved will retire Unit 1 in 2026 and Unit 3 in 2030. It’s part of Xcel’s phased approach to decommissioning the coal units as they’re replaced with clean energy.
Xcel is building one of the largest solar developments in the country adjacent to the Sherco plant to offset the loss in generation and proposing to build the Minnesota Energy Connection transmission line from southwest Minnesota to the plant site to bring renewable energy to the grid. Work on long-duration battery storage units is also underway.
The Sherco Unit 2 facility will become a synchronous condenser. Its purpose is not to produce electric power but to adjust conditions on the electric power transmission grid.
Xcel says it sees tremendous potential for the Sherco plant in its clean energy future.
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