Power plants planned and retiring in Minnesota
Minnesota plans 1,744 MW, 9% of its 18,701 MW in service (36th of 51). 916 MW is being built or tested; storage leads at 826 MW.
Minnesota: planned against running
Minnesota planned, by fuel
- Solar 76 MW (4%)
- Storage 826 MW (47%)
- Wind 428 MW (25%)
- Natural gas 394 MW (23%)
- Oil 20 MW (1%)
Minnesota operating, by fuel
- Solar 2,162 MW (12%)
- Storage 23 MW (0%)
- Wind 4,946 MW (26%)
- Natural gas 5,590 MW (30%)
- Coal 3,136 MW (17%)
- Nuclear 1,657 MW (9%)
- Hydro 216 MW (1%)
- Oil 650 MW (3%)
- Other 323 MW (2%)
When Minnesota capacity arrives and leaves
MW due online and retiring in Minnesota, 2026 to 2034: 8 rows
| Year | Minnesota planned MW | Minnesota retiring MW |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 73 | 685 |
| 2027 | 1072 | No data |
| 2028 | 600 | 512 |
| 2029 | No data | 304 |
| 2030 | No data | 1766 |
| 2031 | No data | 282 |
| 2033 | No data | 521 |
| 2034 | No data | 525 |
8 rows from EIA-860M.
CSVMinnesota projects dated after 2035 or without a year: 0 MW.
Where the Minnesota projects are
Minnesota: 15 counties shaded, darker for more planned MW.
Filter Minnesota planned projects
Filter the 24 planned project lines in Minnesota.
1,744 MW across 24 project lines, 9% of the 18,701 MW operating in Minnesota.
- Sherco BESS, Sherburne: 600 MW storage, online 2027
- Lyon County Generating Station, Lyon: 387 MW natural gas, online 2028
- Dodge County Wind, Dodge: 228 MW wind, online 2027
- Plum Creek, Cottonwood: 200 MW wind, online 2028
- Blue Lake BESS, Scott: 136 MW storage, online 2027
What the Minnesota numbers say
Minnesota runs 18,701 MW today. The planned list would add 1,744 MW (9%) while 4,840 MW (26%) of operating units carry a retirement date. Through 2035, Minnesota has 1,744 MW due online and 4,595 MW due to retire there.
Minnesota planned mix: 76% solar, storage and wind, 23% natural gas. Minnesota stages: 916 MW under construction or in testing, 242 MW permits received, not started, 587 MW permits pending. Minnesota retired 1,299 MW from 2021 to 2026 and has 1,312 MW on the canceled or postponed list.
Minnesota capacity by fuel and status
| Minnesota fuel | Operating MW | Planned MW | Retiring MW | Retired MW | Canceled in Minnesota, MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar | 2,162 | 76 | – | – | 92 |
| Storage | 23 | 826 | – | – | – |
| Wind | 4,946 | 428 | – | 119 | 454 |
| Natural gas | 5,590 | 394 | 1,064 | 34 | 760 |
| Coal | 3,136 | – | 2,067 | 975 | – |
| Nuclear | 1,657 | – | 1,657 | – | – |
| Hydro | 216 | – | 7 | 2 | – |
| Oil | 650 | 20 | 9 | 165 | 5 |
| Other | 323 | – | 36 | 3 | – |
| All fuels | 18,701 | 1,744 | 4,840 | 1,299 | 1,312 |
Minnesota counties with the most planned capacity
| Minnesota county | Planned, MW | Generators | Largest fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburne County | 611 | 4 | Storage |
| Lyon County | 387 | 2 | Natural gas |
| Dodge County | 228 | 1 | Wind |
| Cottonwood County | 200 | 1 | Wind |
| Scott County | 136 | 1 | Storage |
| Chisago County | 80 | 1 | Storage |
| Beltrami County | 50 | 1 | Solar |
| Olmsted County | 32 | 9 | Oil |
| Rice County | 6 | 2 | Solar |
| Stearns County | 6 | 3 | Solar |
Largest planned projects in Minnesota
| Minnesota plant | County | Fuel | Stage | Due | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherco BESS | Sherburne | Storage | Under construction or in testing | 2027 | 600 |
| Lyon County Generating Station | Lyon | Natural gas | Permits pending | 2028 | 387 |
| Dodge County Wind | Dodge | Wind | Permits received, not started | 2027 | 228 |
| Plum Creek | Cottonwood | Wind | Permits pending | 2028 | 200 |
| Blue Lake BESS | Scott | Storage | Under construction or in testing | 2027 | 136 |
| North Star Energy Storage, LLC | Chisago | Storage | Under construction or in testing | 2027 | 80 |
| Solway Solar | Beltrami | Solar | Under construction or in testing | 2026 | 50 |
| Franklin Heating Station | Olmsted | Oil | Under construction or in testing | 2027 | 17 |
| Sherco LDES | Sherburne | Storage | Permits received, not started | 2028 | 10 |
| Franklin Heating Station | Olmsted | Natural gas | Under construction or in testing | 2027 | 7 |
Minnesota against its neighbors
Minnesota: planned MW equal 9% of operating. Bordering states: Iowa plans 4% of what it runs (5 points below Minnesota); North Dakota plans 21% of what it runs (12 points above Minnesota); South Dakota plans 5% of what it runs (4 points below Minnesota); Wisconsin plans 26% of what it runs (17 points above Minnesota).
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Sources
EIA-860M inventory for Minnesota: 1,360 operating generators, 24 planned lines, edition August 2026, retrieved 5 Oct 2026. Sources for {e(sn)}.
More on Minnesota
Questions
Minnesota: how much new power plant capacity is planned?
1,744 MW, 9% of the 18,701 MW Minnesota runs. 916 MW is being built or tested in Minnesota.
Minnesota: what kind of power plants are planned?
Storage leads Minnesota with 826 of 1,744 planned MW.
Minnesota: which power plants are retiring?
4,840 MW of Minnesota units have a retirement date, of which 2,067 MW is coal and 1,064 MW natural gas.
Will Minnesota get all the planned plants?
Not necessarily. Minnesota has 1,312 MW canceled or postponed, and 1,299 MW (coal the largest group) retired from 2021 to 2026.