Construction Wraps Up on Largest Solar Facility in Midwest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Construction has wrapped up on a $180 million solar farm in Minnesota that's billed as the largest single solar facility in the Midwest and one of the largest in the country.

The North Star Solar project in Chisago County just north of the Twin Cities comprises more than 440,000 solar panels on 1 1/2 square miles of land. It's expected to produce enough energy to power more than 20,000 homes, starting in December.

Swinerton Renewable Energy built the facility in about six months, after developers spent more than a year negotiating with landowners and acquiring needed permits. Pennsylvania-based Community Energy Solar owns and will operate the project.

Xcel Energy will buy power from it as part of a 25-year deal, to provide solar energy to customers across the upper Midwest.