https://www.stcloudlive.com/news/local/officials-celebrate-as-1-1b-sherburne-county-solar-power-plan-comes-online
One time assistant high school football coach and failed vice-presidential candidate Minnesota governor Tim Walz joined some prominent Xcel Energy executives Nov. 19 at the celebration of the opening of the initial phase of the $1.1 billion Sherco Solar Project near Becker, Minnesota.
Trent Abrego / St. Cloud LIVE
As is normal, proponents of the project tout the number of jobs that it creates, 400 union construction jobs and 12 ongoing operations and maintenance jobs. Yes, twelve highly-paid individuals will observe the static solar panels far into the future, or at least the 35 year lifespan those panels are expected to have, as well as those temporary construction jobs, all for the paltry investment of over a billion dollars. A universal benefit will be the elimination of atmospheric CO2 release, believed by some to be the cause of the startling rise in global temperatures.
Of course none of this would be happening without the advanced Whig technique of providing $480 million in federal tax credits for the operation, as if this sum came from trees rather than the taxes paid by citizens far into the future.
According to media reports the project is even now providing reliable electrical power to thousands of Upper Midwest homes, 220 megawatts at present. Batteries to store power during cloudy days and darkness are on the way.
Xcel Energy
Portions of the project cover what was once a University of Minnesota agricultural research site.
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