As Minnesotans power up their heaters Tuesday night, some will be utilizing solar energy.

It’s all thanks to Xcel Energy’s new Sherco Solar Plant, which has powered up in Clear Lake.

“Carbon-free electricity from Sherco is officially flowing from this site today,” declared Bob Frenzel, Xcel’s chair, president and CEO. “When we are done, Sherco could stand as the largest coal plant redevelopment in the nation.”

Xcel Energy says the project represents an investment of about $1.1 billion.

The massive array will eventually span 5,000 acres and include 1.5 million solar panels.

It will also include long duration battery facilities to store energy for when ‘the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing.’

“The largest solar-generating facility in the Upper Midwest,” Frenzel told reporters. “We’re moving closer to creating a nation-leading iconic renewable complex here that will power our clean energy future.”

The utility is planning to use new and extended federal tax credits and Department of Energy grants to pass savings on to its customers through the form of lower electricity rates.  

“The investment we’re making brings hundreds of millions of dollars of federal tax credits back to Minnesota and back to our customers through lower bills,” says Ryan Long, the president of Xcel Energy in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

The project’s initial connection to the Upper Midwest grid is to generate more than 220 megawatts of solar power.

Two more connection phases are scheduled for 2025 and 2026.

By that second year, Xcel says the facility is to provide 750 megawatts, enough to power 150,000 homes in the Upper Midwest.

Eventually, the utility plans to retire the Sherco Coal Plant in three stages by 2030 and have a carbon-free electric system by 2050.  

“This is what the future can look like, and the future is bright,” Gov. Tim Walz said.

The governor says using a variety of sources — solar, wind and nuclear — is a way to prevent power outages.  

“It’s this diversity of where we’re getting our energy from, making sure it’s the reliability of the cost and the sustainability of this,” Walz says.

Xcel says the project is creating 400 union construction jobs and 12 ongoing operations and maintenance jobs.

With a new administration in January, there’s uncertainty about future energy policies by the federal government.

But in a statement, Xcel says it is prepared to work with the feds.   

“We have a long track record of working with both parties on behalf of our customers, including during the first Trump administration,” the statement says. “We continue to work with other companies and stakeholders to educate lawmakers on the many positive aspects for their constituents. At the same time, we look forward to working with the incoming administration on its policies such as permitting reform, that could help us bring energy resources online faster to serve our customers.”

Walz hopes to show by example what energy diversity can do.

He pointed to states like Texas and Oklahoma, which he says are looking at new energy sources.  

“Yes, they are drilling oil, yes, they have natural gas, but they’re also heavy in renewables,” the governor says. “And I think one of the big things is that keeping these tax credits in place is going to be really critical and my hope would be that they see what this does, that they see the jobs.”