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w Ms. Steinhauer September 6, 2011 Page 2 of 4 Scoping Meeting for the project held on August 10, 20111. Based on these maps and comments, Xcel Energy concluded that these four alternative substation sites include: (1) several parcels of land owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation ("MnDOT") located between Sixth Avenue N. and Wayzata Blvd. ("MnDOT Parcels"); (2) property owned by Park Gun Club located northwest of Sixth Avenue near Starkey Road ("Gun Club Parcels" —note, however, that Mr. Kuruvilla may also be referring to the Baker Park Reserve land west of the Gun Club site); (3) property owned by the City of Orono located south of Sixth Avenue N. and north of U.S. Highway 12 ("City of Orono Parcel"); (4) property owned by H.F. Eisinger located north of U.S. Highway 12 and south of Wayzata Blvd. W. ("Eisinger Parcel"). A map created by Xcel Energy showing these four alternative substation sites is enclosed as Attachment 2. Generally speaking, Xcel Energy does not believe that these four alternative Orono Substation sites are feasible and prudent alternatives to the existing Orono Substation site. All of these sites would require relocation/extension of numerous existing distribution feeders and would require additional length of new double circuit 115 kV transmission lines as all of these sites are located further east of the existing Orono Substation site. Extending and relocating these distribution circuits and extending the new transmission line to these four alternative sites would result in greater human settlement, land use, and environmental impacts compared to continued use of the existing Orono Substation site. These four alternative substation sites would also require significant additional land acquisition and additional transmission line costs. In contrast, Xcel Energy currently owns the entire 16-acre site surrounding the existing Orono Substation. In addition to these general concerns, Xcel Energy also has several site specific concerns associated with these four alternative sites. These include the following: 1. MnDOT Parcels • these parcels are not large enough to accommodate the planned substation replacement; • possible wetlands at the parcels reduce useable land area for substation use even if the parcels were large enough for the planned Project; See lines 22 to 25,page 30,and lines 1-2,page 31,of the transcript of the Public Comments—August 10,2011,In the Matter of the Saute Permit Application for the Omno Substation Expansion and New 115 kV Transmission Line Project.