The energy companies that built the CapX2020 Fargo-St. Cloud/Monticello transmission project have proposed a new transmission line that will add new transmission infrastructure to increase reliability, reduce grid congestion, and increase access to new electric generation sources in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
The Fargo-Alexandria project will mainly involve adding a new transmission line on the existing CapX2020 structures from the existing Bison Substation near Fargo, North Dakota to the existing Alexandria Substation near Alexandria, Minnesota.
If the Certificate of Need and amendment to the existing Route Permit are approved, construction could begin in 2028 and be in service by 2032.
Project Need
The region’s electric grid has served customers reliably for more than a century as our energy system has grown and changed. In recent years, utilities have added new electric generation, including renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and retired aging plants. Additional plant retirements and energy generation additions throughout the region require us to build new transmission projects to deliver electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s used and to continue serving customers with the reliable electricity they need to power their homes and businesses.
Additionally, as the system has changed, the existing system is under stress and experiences congestion, which limits the amount of electricity that can reliably be delivered to customers. The Fargo to Alexandria project will help reduce that congestion, providing benefits to customers throughout the Upper Midwest.