Lyon County Commissioners threw myriad questions at Xcel Energy’s proposed renewable energy projects at Tuesday’s Lyon County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Xcel is proposing the construction of a 420-megawatt, natural gas power plant near Garvin as part of its plan to carry electricity generated in southwest Minnesota to the existing electric grid at Xcel Energy’s Sherco site in Becker by the year 2028.
The plant will operate when renewables aren’t available and at peak usage times The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last week approved a Certificate of Need for the project and which route across Minnesota would carry the electricity from the Garvin sub-station.
Xcel has a purchase agreement to buy 80 acres for the sub-station and 80 acres for the power plant.
One of the first questions posed by Commissioner Rick Anderson was how much water will be needed for the plant near Garvin which will require about 200 gallons per every minute of peak operation.
“We do need water on site for a couple different reasons,” said Plant Director Jared Graham. “Most important is for fire protection for the combustion turbines on the property. Where will the water come from? We’re going to have to drill some wells on the property to get water to our service water storage tank.”
Anderson asked if Xcel would make sure drilling wells won’t affect local landowners in the area.
“We’re very early in the stages of trying to figure out water,” Graham said. “You’re right, we will need a good source of water. We don’t know exactly on the 160 acres where those wells will come from. We need to do some research on that.”
When asked how much workable farmland will be affected by the power lines, Randy Fordyce, who works with communications and public affairs for Xcel, said they tried to avoid that issue as much as possible.
“There are probably instances where we weren’t able to avoid it with every possible route,” Fordyce said. We think we’re pretty good at staying on roads and section lines.”
The power plant will also include two stormwater ponds that are rated for 100-year rainfall events.
Anderson also asked how much noise will be generated by the power plant.
Graham said noise levels will reach anywhere between 50-60 decibels at the edge of the parcel of land Xcel will own.
“The nearest residence to the south, it will be about 50 decibels, and to the east, it will reach to about 40 decibels,” Graham said. “Fifty decibels is like a quiet office.”
A public hearing for the projects will take place in, either in late 2025 or early 2026.
