Xcel Energy Breaks Ground on New Service Center at The Heights
Xcel Energy has begun construction on a new service center that will position it to continue serving homes and businesses in Saint Paul with safe and reliable energy. Located at The Heights, a multi-use development located on the site of the former Hillcrest Golf Course on the city’s East Side, the new service center will provide a larger, more modern space to fit the needs of crews and also improve safety.
“We have outgrown our current service center on Rice Street, which has served our customers reliably for a century,” said Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “As part of our commitment to the Saint Paul community, we are excited to build a larger, more modern facility that will help us continue to provide the level of service residents and businesses expect of us while also meeting our own future operational needs.”
The upcoming 320,000-square-foot service center will be about twice the size of the company’s existing service center on Rice Street. In addition to providing the resources needed to meet customers’ needs, the facility will also modernize the employee experience and support our clean energy strategy.
Xcel Energy collaborated with the Saint Paul Port Authority throughout the process of locating and designing the service center, including in the sustainability features of the new facility. The Heights development aims to be one of the first net zero communities in the country, with a Platinum LEED for Communities certification. The service center will use energy-efficient construction and will operate on renewable energy provided by 1 megawatt of solar panels on its roof. It will also have 23 electric vehicle charging stations at the site to support the growing number of electric fleet vehicles.
The 375 employees currently based at the Rice Street service center will move to the new facility once the site becomes operational in late 2026 or early 2027. The transition will not lead to any interruptions to electric or gas service for customers.