Xcel Energy said Tuesday it wants to build the largest solar-energy plant in Minnesota near its existing Sherco Power Plant in Becker.

The project is estimated to be around $575 million and would create 

The project is expected to create 900 union construction jobs and around 25 permanent positions. The farm is expected to provide enough electricity to power 100,000 Upper Midwest homes.

“The Sherco solar project will deliver more of the renewable energy our customers want while also keeping bills affordable for the long-term,” Christopher Clark, Xcel’s president for Minnesota and the Dakotas, said in a news release.

While Xcel discussed the solar plant earlier this year and began accepting proposals from solar developers, the company late Tuesday filed its formal proposal with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The proposal is part of Xcel’s response to the PUC’s call last spring to accelerate investments to help with the COVID-19 economic recovery.

Xcel expects the solar installations to be running by 2024, following the retirement of the first Sherco coal unit. It would be developed jointly by Xcel and Edina-based National Grid Renewables, and Xcel would own and operate the plant. Xcel plans to fully phase out all coal plants in Minnesota by 2030. As the coal plants are retired, Xcel plans to avoid layoffs by managing its workforce through attrition, retirements and retraining.

“Our employees at Sherco and the Becker area have played a vital role over many decades in powering the region,” Clark said. “These new solar projects will help the community make a smooth transition and provide new jobs and capital investments as we wind down the use of coal in Minnesota.” 

The Sherco solar plant would have the capacity to produce 460 megawatts of electricity, roughly the same amount as Xcel’s Riverside gas-fired plant in northeast Minneapolis. Minnesota’s largest source of solar power is the Community Solar Garden program, which has a 789-megawatt capacity scattered among 400 sites.

Xcel also plans to build a 750-megawatt gas-fired power plant at Sherco in the mid-2020s, although it has drawn considerable opposition from environmental and clean-power advocates.