"Minnesota has made tremendous progress to support clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, meeting our 25 percent renewable energy goal seven years ahead of schedule," Gov. Mark Dayton said in the release. "This new partnership between the Metropolitan Council and Xcel Energy continues Minnesota’s nation-leading efforts to conserve energy, save taxpayer dollars, and support a strong clean energy economy."
 

The first action of the new partnership will be to explore powering the Metropolitan Council's metro area wastewater planet entirely through renewable energy. According to a release, that plant alone accounts for 45 percent of the council's total electrical load, enough to power 10,000 homes each year.

Following that action, the Metropolitan Council will contract with Xcel for additional renewable energy every few years until they reach the 100 percent benchmark.

The council is also looking at adding more electrical buses.


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