Perched along a bend of the Mississippi River north of downtown Red Wing, the historic Northern States Power (NSP) steam plant stands out with its twin rust-colored smokestacks and the familiar “NSP” lettering still mounted between them. Built in the mid-20th century as a coal-fired generating station, the facility once fed electricity into the regional grid and played a key role in the expansion of Northern States Power’s service territory across southeastern Minnesota.

The long enclosed conveyor stretching from the riverfront marks where coal deliveries once arrived by barge, a reminder of how closely the plant’s operations were tied to the Mississippi’s working waterfront. Although the plant has been retired for years, the structure remains an important industrial landmark—visible from Memorial Park high above the river—and sits near the broader Prairie Island energy complex that includes transmission infrastructure and the nearby nuclear generating station. Surrounded by forested riverbanks and the bluffs that define Red Wing’s geography, the site reflects a layered history of energy production, transportation, and landscape along this stretch of the Upper Mississippi.

The large yellow “NSP” letters seen here belong to the historic Northern States Power Company generating station in Red Wing, Minnesota. Perched along the Mississippi River just north of downtown, the plant was once a key part of the regional electrical grid operated by NSP—now Xcel Energy. Although much of the facility has been retired or repurposed, the tall brick stacks and the weathered rooftop lettering remain some of the most recognizable industrial features on Red Wing’s riverfront.

Built in the mid-20th century, the station reflects an era when coal-fired plants lined major waterways to take advantage of cooling capacity and barge-delivered fuel. The surrounding corridor, including the nearby railway and grain terminals, has long formed one of Red Wing’s primary industrial zones. Today, while the plant no longer plays the role it once did, the NSP letters survive as a visual marker of the city’s energy-production past.

A foggy night in downtown Minneapolis with IDS Center in the background with Xcel Energy Headquarters in the foreground.

An Xcel Energy substaton near Downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

District Energy in St. Paul Minnesota near the Mississippi River.