Xcel Energy, Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Great River Energy, Missouri River Energy Services and Otter Tail Power Company will upgrade nearly 100 miles of transmission line in Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, allowing the companies and other energy providers to deliver more low-cost renewable energy to customers throughout the Upper Midwest while saving customers millions of dollars a year.

This week, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the installation of a second high-voltage circuit on two segments of the existing Brookings County-Hampton transmission line. One segment of new circuit will run between Brookings, South Dakota, and Marshall, Minnesota, while the other will run between Scott and Dakota counties in Minnesota. Xcel Energy will start construction beginning in South Dakota this month.

“This project will bring low-cost renewable energy to millions of homes and businesses, supporting Xcel Energy’s clean energy vision and Minnesota’s 2040 carbon-free law,” said Ryan Long, president, Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “We thank the Commission and other parties for recognizing the value of this project, which uses existing infrastructure to decrease congestion on our transmission system while limiting the impact to landowners in the area.”

This transmission project will have far-reaching congestion relief benefits. It will provide additional capacity, allowing more low-cost generation 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.

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 energy providers. At that time, the MPUC 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 demand and wind generation in the future.