GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Xcel Energy and Veit demolished the long-standing Minnesota Valley Generating Plant in Granite Falls on Thursday. A small group of people who used to work at the plant watched from afar.
"Now, when people come to Granite, they won't even know they're going through Granite," Verlyn Kling said.
King worked at the plant for 34 years as an electrician. He says the two smokestacks greeted people as they drove into town.
The coal-powered plant was built in the 1920's and became operational in the 1930's. It gradually increased the wattage of power exported as decades passed. The Granite Falls location provided energy to areas stretching to Sioux Falls and to Minneapolis. Xcel Energy announced years ago it would be working to remove its carbon footprint by 2050. Its move to "new, cleaner energy technologies" prompted the decision to retire the plant in 2009 and demolish it in 2022.
"They have been stables for generations, so you get a whole new landscape that you haven't seen in 70 years," Xcel spokesperson, John Marshall said.
Watch the video of the implosion below. If you're wearing headphones, be sure to turn down the sound!
Bayport and Becker house Xcel's final coal operations. Those locations are slated to close by 2030. The company claims this move will decrease its carbon footprint by 80%
"It's sad, ya know?" Dallas Iverson said.
Iverson worked at the plant for 34 years. He says he couldn't help but think about the former co-workers he had when watching the plant go down.
"It's amazing how it fell straight down. There she goes," Iverson said.
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