Minnesota COVID-19 Economic Recovery

Supporting economic recovery in Minnesota and advancing clean energy

Xcel Energy is proud to be part of the Minnesota community, and we are committed to helping our customers and our state recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our response to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and Department of Commerce request for energy companies to help with job growth and getting the economy on track, we’ve proposed projects that would create thousands of jobs across the state while keeping bills stable and advancing our clean energy goals.

Proposal Benefits

If approved, the projects would:

• Create thousands of new jobs across Minnesota.
• Spur the creation of additional jobs throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.
• Reduce carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons each year, on average.
• Generate millions in long-term tax revenue for state and local governments.
• Rely on union labor and support women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses.
• Increase spending on assistance programs for low-income customers.

Project Highlights

Adding solar near the Sherco plant

We proposed speeding up the addition of up to 460 megawatts of solar power next to our Sherco coal plant in Becker, Minnesota.

• Hundreds of union construction jobs created
• Millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue, as well as landowner lease payments
• Up to 460 megawatts of carbon-free energy added, enough to power more than 100,000 homes each year

Expanding and rebuilding wind farms

Rebuilding aging wind farms with the latest technology would ensure that customers continue to receive clean and affordable energy from high performing, economic wind resources.

• Hundreds of new construction jobs in greater Minnesota, spurring additional jobs and economic benefits
• $160 million in estimated customer savings
• Union labor and women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses contracted for various aspects of the projects

Expanding conservation and efficiency programs

We proposed to expand our current conservation programs, including rebates to provide direct rebate payments to customers.

• Increase assistance programs for low-income customers to spend twice as much as the state requires, helping lower customer bills
• 2,700 jobs supported

Our proposal also outlines investments in transmission, distribution, gas distribution and electric vehicle infrastructure projects, including building electric vehicle charging stations for fleets and the public.

Note: All figures are subject to change and estimated over the lives of the projects unless otherwise noted.

Minnesota Relief & Recovery Plan overview (PDF)