Xcel Energy has locked in state approval to build a 420-megawatt natural gas peaking plant outside Garvin, Minnesota, a project the utility says is meant to shore up reliability as wind and solar ramp up across southwest Minnesota. Xcel plans to break ground this summer and bring the Lyon County Generating Station online in late 2028.
PUC signs off
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission this week signed off on the project’s certificate of need, site and related permits, clearing the way for construction, according to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The docket pulls together filings, staff reports and agency comments that formed the record behind the decision.
What Xcel will build
According to an Xcel project fact sheet, the Lyon County Generating Station will feature two combustion turbines, each at about 210 megawatts, for a total of 420 MW of capacity, along with short transmission ties to the grid and a short natural gas pipeline connecting to an existing line. Xcel Energy says the permanent footprint will cover roughly 30 acres within a 155-acre site and that the plant is designed to run only when needed as a peaking resource.
Site, timeline and local reaction
The plant is planned next to the Garvin substation and has been reported to sit near U.S. Highway 59 and 120th Street, where Xcel will connect to the new transmission endpoint. The Marshall Independent reports that construction is expected to start this summer and that company and county officials have been meeting with nearby landowners about easements and road use.
Where it fits in the grid transition
Xcel says the Lyon County station will provide reliability support at the southern end of the Minnesota Energy Connection transmission line, which the company says will be able to carry enough energy to power more than 1 million homes across the Upper Midwest. In a broader framing of its clean energy buildout, Xcel Energy presents the plant as a backup for new wind and solar as the utility retires coal and adds more renewables.
Next steps
Some regulatory and permitting work still lies ahead. The PUC docket includes environmental review documents and agency comments that must be resolved before full construction ramps up. Records at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission list the environmental assessment and related filings that will shape the final conditions for both construction and operation.
