Granite Falls, MN (LEARFIELD) — Xcel Energy plans to demolish its coal plant Thursday morning in Granite Falls. The company says the Minnesota Valley Generating Plant was a critical source of energy in the region for over 60 years, but the utility is now focused on moving to cleaner energy technologies. Xcel Energy and Granite Falls city officials are honoring the history of the iconic coal plant and employees and retirees who operated it. The plant produced electricity for farms and towns between the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls, South Dakota from the 1930s through the ’90s. Explosives will be used to implode the plant which was retired in 2009.
