Hennepin Island

Northern States Power Company – Minnesota (Xcel Energy)Hennepin CountyMISO

Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Plant is a conventional hydroelectric facility with five operating generators totaling 13.7 MW of nameplate capacity in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The plant sits on Hennepin Island adjacent to St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, near the historic Pillsbury "A" Mill. It is owned and operated by Northern States Power Company – Minnesota, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, which controls the site's historic water rights. The plant runs under FERC Project No. 2056, a license reissued on March 8, 2004 for a 30-year term covering the 12.4-MW upper development, putting the current license horizon at 2034. As a license condition, Xcel built the adjoining Water Power Park for public river access; the park closed in July 2025 for an underground wall project to stabilize the earthen dam forming Hennepin Island, with reopening planned for mid-April 2026.