Becker, Minnesota CNN —The smokestacks on the aging Sherco coal power plant tower over gleaming solar panels that stretch across thousands of acres of farmland. The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. A view of Sherco power plant, which has been operating since the 1970s and is slated for full retirement by 2030. But the reality is, it’s there.”From super-polluters to clean energy juggernautsThe answer to supercharging clean energy could lie inside some of the most polluting power plants in the US.

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Persons: Becker, Julian Quinones, CNN Xcel Energy's Ryan Long, Evelio Contreras, ”, Ryan Long, Xcel, Umed Paliwal, Rob Gramlich, “, ” Gramlich, Sherco, Bill Weir, Sonia Aggarwal, that’s, ” Long, we’ll, ” Julian Quinones, Pete Wyckoff, ” Wyckoff, ” It’s, Tim Walz, ” Wykoff, “ We’re Organizations: Minnesota CNN, CNN, University of California, UC Berkeley, Disney, Energy, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Commerce, Democratic Locations: Minnesota, Upper Midwest, University, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, White, Illinois, Virginia, Becker , Minnesota