First phase of massive Sherco Solar project now generating electricity

Sunshine was in short supply on Tuesday as government, labor and business leaders gathered in a field northwest of Becker.

But despite heavy clouds and rain, Bria Shea with Xcel Energy told the crowd that the Sherco Solar project was still generating electricity.

“I just want to note that it is still producing 42 megawatts as of right now, so imagine what it could do on a hot summer day,” said Shea, Xcel’s regional vice president for regulatory policy.

Tuesday’s event marked a milestone in Xcel’s transition away from burning fossil fuels to carbon-free sources of energy — like the sun and wind — that don’t contribute to climate change.

“We’re moving closer to creating a nation leading iconic renewable complex here that will power our clean energy future,” said Bob Frenzel, Xcel’s CEO.

The first phase of the $1.1 billion Sherco Solar project was connected to the electrical grid in late October. When the next two phases are completed in 2025 and 2026, the project will produce 710 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power about 150,000 homes.

It will help replace some of the electricity generated by the Sherco coal-fired power plant, whose smokestacks loom over the seemingly endless rows of solar panels. Xcel retired one of the plant’s three units last year, and plans to shutter the other two by 2030.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz noted the juxtaposition, saying, “The backdrop here speaks volumes,” he said. “This is what the future will look like.”

Walz noted that the Sherco Solar project also will pilot an iron-air battery capable of storing electricity for several days.

“This is going to be one of the first places in the country and in the world to be doing this,” he said. “That is a big game changer, if we can store this energy when we need to do it.”

Walz and Xcel officials noted that the project benefitted from federal tax credits for solar under the Biden administration. Those incentives face an uncertain future under President-elect Trump, who has promised to roll back the Inflation Reduction Act.

Xcel officials say that’s unlikely to affect the utility’s transition to renewable energy here in Minnesota. The company is already proposing a fourth phase of Sherco Solar.