(Lakefield, Mn.)– A utility company wants to put up a new major power line in southwest Minnesota.
Xcel Energy has applied to state and federal officials for permission to erect a new transmission line connecting a substation near Lakefield with one near Sioux Falls.
Xcel officials say the new line is needed to meet the increased generating capacity being produced by 450 wind turbines along the Buffalo Ridge in southwest Minnesota. They’re churning out about 300 megawatts and officials say the lines, which were built many years ago, weren’t designed to handle that kind of load.
