Minnesota officials on Thursday approved plans for the expansion of a solar energy project that a utility says will be one of the largest in the country with the capability of powering more than 150,000 homes.

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The state Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy's expansion of the Sherco Solar project, adding a 250-megawatt array to a 460-megawatt array now under construction. The utility says all phases of the project will be finished by 2025.

The expansion will cost about $406 million, bringing Xcel's total investment in the project to more than $1 billion, the utility said. The total 710-megawatt project will be enough to power more than 150,000 homes annually.

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The solar generation will be near an existing coal-fired plant in Becker, Minnesota, northwest of Minneapolis. When completed, the new power will replace electricity generated by a coal-fired plant that is set to be closed later this year.

Xcel plans to close its three coal-fired plants in Becker by 2030.

The commission also approved a plan for Xcel to buy electricity from a planned 100-megawatt solar project in northwestern Wisconsin. The Apple River project in Polk County, northeast of the Twin Cities, is one of the largest solar projects in Wisconsin.