Xcel's coal plant in Burnsville takes its last load before transitioning to gas

One of Xcel Energy's power plants will receive its last shipment of coal Wednesday as it prepares to transition to natural gas.

The Black Dog plant in Burnsville will stop burning coal April 15 after more than 60 years. Part of the power plant is already burning natural gas, and another natural gas unit is being built to replace the coal-fired units.

The transition will help the utility reduce carbon emissions contributing to climate change. New federal regulations also would have forced Xcel to add expensive controls to reduce mercury emissions.

Another coal-fired power plant — Minnesota Power's Laskin Energy Center in northern Minnesota — has already stopped burning coal and will become a natural gas power plant sometime this summer.