The flat, windy fields around the central Minnesota city of Becker are mostly used to grow potatoes and corn. But if Xcel Energy has its way, it will soon reap a different year-round crop — power generated by the sun. For decades, the state's largest power plant — the Sherburne County Generating Station, known as Sherco — has provided the Upper Midwest with electricity. It’s also delivered jobs and tax revenue to Becker. But growing climate concerns and the falling price of renewable energy are prompting utilities to shutter coal plants. Xcel plans to close all three of Sherco's coal units by 2030. It wants to replace a portion of that electricity with a 460-megawatt solar project that would cover about 3,200 acres just outside of Becker. "It's a big step in transitioning our electric supply,” said Allen Gleckner, clean electricity director for the nonprofit advocacy group Fresh Energy. "Adding a big solar project where a coal plant is retiring is indicative of the transition we're seeing, and brings lots and lots of benefits." [Read more from Kirsti Marohn]
What else we're watching:
MN Senate passes public safety plan, House nearing vote. The Minnesota Senate passed a $200 million public safety bill Monday aimed at getting tough on crime throughout the state.
Missing 10-year-old girl found dead in Chippewa Falls.A 10-year-old girl who went missing after going to visit an aunt was found dead Monday along a creek trail in downtown Chippewa Falls, Wis., police said.
Police: St. Paul lawmaker intervened in traffic stop of daughter. State Rep. John Thompson intervened after a 26-year-old woman he said was his daughter was pulled over in St. Paul and took her away from the scene before police could administer a field sobriety test in a suspected impaired driving case.
