BECKER, Minn. (KVRR) — Xcel Energy has announced plans to build the Midwest’s largest battery energy storage site.

It’ll be at the Sherco Energy Hub in Becker in central Minnesota.

The proposal, filed with Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last Friday, would double the amount of battery storage adjacent to the Sherco coal plant which is scheduled to retire by the end of 2030.

The new proposal would increase the capacity to 600 megawatts of storage.

If approved, construction on the battery storage projects would begin in 2026.

Bria Shea, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, says batteries help store energy when it’s inexpensive to produce and dispatch it when needed.

“We’re making a significant investment in battery storage because we see it as a crit

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