Tour the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center!
Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 3:46AM
After a hiatus due to COVID-19, Hennepin County is again offering facility tours at the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center (HERC) waste-to-energy facility. HERC is a waste-to-energy facility where waste is received and burned to generate steam for the downtown district energy system and electricity sold to Xcel Energy. Tours describe how the plant works and fits within the county’s solid waste management system to divert waste from landfills.
- Tour participants must be 14 years of age or older.
- Masks are optional. (Masks are available at HERC for participants that do not bring their own.)
Tours for Groups
Please complete the HERC tour request form to request a tour for a group of five to 16 people. Due to safety precautions related to COVID-19, tours to groups of more than 16 people are not available at this time. Protecting the health of tour participants and HERC’s operating staff is critical to maintaining the waste and energy infrastructure.
Outdoor tour option: to request a tour that is 100% outdoors, list “outdoor tour” when providing your goal for visiting the facility. Note that outdoor tours will not enter the HERC facility.
Tours for individuals or groups with less than five people
Complete the HERC tour sign up form to sign up for a slot during pre-scheduled tours of the HERC facility. This option should be used for groups of less than five participants. New date options will be added regularly. You will be contacted by a Hennepin County staff person when your slot is confirmed with additional information, including how to access the facility the day of the tour.
Take a virtual tour
Watch a video about HERC (YouTube) to learn more about how waste is managed in the county and how HERC converts waste to energy.
