Photo by Deb Gau Representatives of Xcel Energy answer questions from area residents, and talk about plans for a gas-fired generating plant and substation near Garvin, at a Tuesday night meeting. The power plant would be part of Xcel’s Minnesota Energy Connection project.

GARVIN — A planned new high-voltage transmission line in southwest Minnesota will help connect to sources of renewable energy in the region. But representatives of Xcel Energy said the project will also include measures to help keep the power supply reliable.

A 420 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant planned near Garvin will help supply electricity to Xcel’s Minnesota Energy Connection project. Xcel spokespeople said the plant would only operate when needed.

“We would expect it to operate when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining,” said Xcel representative Randy Fordice.

On Tuesday evening, an informational meeting about the planned generating plant, as well as a planned new electrical substation, was held in Garvin. Both facilities will be part of Xcel’s Minnesota Energy Connection project, a 345-kilovolt transmission line running from Sherburne County to Lyon County.

Around 20 landowners from the Garvin area attended the meeting, Xcel representatives estimated.

The planned sites for the substation and gas-fired generating plant were about a mile north of Garvin, Fordice said. Xcel Energy will be filing for a certificate of need and a site permit for the power plant in May, Fordice said. Xcel is also seeking route permits for electric transmission line and gas pipeline connections at the plant. More detailed plans, and construction, would come after getting applications approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

The goal will be to have the generating plant operational in 2028, Fordice said. Site grading was planned to take place in 2026, with the combustion turbines and generator for the plant going in in 2027 and 2028.

An estimated 200 people would work on the construction of the generating plant. The plant would create about five full-time jobs, Fordice said.

People at the meeting asked questions on topics ranging from drainage and water use at the generating plant, to how loud it would be.

“We’ve gotten a lot of questions about noise,” Fordice said. When the plant is running, the noise level at the edge of the fence line would be about 55 decibels, which was a loudness level comparable to rainfall, he said.

The plant would also not be running constantly, Fordice said. In addition to filing for permits from the PUC, Xcel Energy is also filing an application with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for a permit for the power plant. Information handouts at Tuesday’s meeting said the permit will limit the number of hours the plant can run each year. That limit will likely be about 20% of the hours in a calendar year, Xcel said.

Fordice said Xcel was also looking at drilling wells on the power plant property, to supply water to help with evaporative cooling. If test wells didn’t work, plans could change, he said.