Dairyland Power Cooperative and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) filed an application for a Certificate of Need for the Gopher to Badger Link 765 kilovolt (kV) electric transmission line that, if approved, would connect infrastructure near Pine Island with transmission lines serving the broader region. This new transmission line will help enable expected electric growth in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Midwest, ensuring continued electric reliability as energy use grows while managing the changing ways energy is generated and used. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will review the application with a decision expected in 2027.
“Our customers and cooperative members depend on reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost, and projects like Gopher to Badger Link will help us deliver on those promises for decades to come,” the companies said. “New transmission infrastructure invests in our communities and ensures our customers will have the energy resources they need to power their homes and businesses into the future.”
These projects are essential to move large volumes of electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s needed, ensuring reliable energy delivery in all seasons, at all times. This new infrastructure can accommodate energy from all sources — helping communities thrive as energy needs change.
The projects were part of the portfolio approved in December 2024 by the region’s grid operator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), as part of the second set of projects in its Long-Range Transmission Plan. In this historic portfolio, MISO approved 24 transmission projects including several 345 kV projects in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as this 765 kV transmission backbone infrastructure.
Local input critical to project development
Xcel Energy is developing approximately 35 miles of the project connecting the North Rochester substation near Pine Island, Minn., to Marion, Minn., where the project will connect with an existing 161 kV transmission line comprising the MariBell Segment of the project, developed by Dairyland Power Cooperative. Company representatives have begun working with local landowners and officials to introduce the project and request feedback on potential route options that will be proposed.
The Certificate of Need review includes several opportunities for public involvement, including public meetings to develop an Environmental Report, and public hearings held by an Administrative Law Judge.
Further, the companies will host additional public open houses to ask for feedback about potential route options ahead of filing a Route Permit application, which is planned for Fall 2026. Additional open houses and opportunities for public input and feedback will be scheduled in the coming weeks.