Five Upper Midwestern utilities, led by Xcel Energy, have proposed expanding transmission between North Dakota and Minnesota to address thermal and voltage issues on an existing 345-kV line operating at capacity.
The companies, which include Great River Energy, Minnesota Power, Missouri River Energy Services and Otter Tail Power, on Jan. 15 filed an application with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to add a second 345-kV transmission circuit to the existing line between Douglas County, Minnesota, and Cass County, North Dakota. The original transmission line was completed about a decade ago as part of the CapX2020 project. The companies said all new infrastructure would be added within the existing right-of-way.
The five energy providers will jointly own the project, with Xcel acting as project manager and responsible for construction. The entire project is estimated to cost about $249 million, with roughly $187 million for work in Minnesota, according to the application.
The utilities said they plan to file a similar application with North Dakota regulators.
“We designed the original transmission line with the future in mind by building infrastructure that could be expanded when our customers and electric cooperative members needed it,” the energy providers said in a statement. “We will soon expand this important project without affecting any new landowners, limiting our overall impact while saving money for our customers and electric cooperative members throughout the region.”
The new line “will facilitate efficient electricity transmission across multiple states to local communities, supporting each state’s policy and reliability objectives in a more cost-effective and minimally disruptive manner,” the utilities said in their application. “The project is needed to provide additional transmission capacity and to maintain electric system reliability throughout the region as more generation resources are added to the electric system.”
Within Minnesota, the project would extend from the Minnesota-North Dakota border in Holy Cross Township in Clay County, crossing Clay, Wilkin, Otter Tail, Grant, and Douglas counties, before terminating at Alexandria Substation in Alexandria, Minnesota, in Douglas County. The utilities said they plan to file a route permit amendment for the project in the first half of this year.
The Minnesota PUC review process typically takes about a year, Xcel said. If the project is approved, the utility said construction could begin in 2028, with the line in service in June 2032.
