Hennepin County offers 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.

Thank you for scheduling a tour of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC).
As visitors of a working facility, all tours must follow instructions of the tour guide for your safety. Make sure that group size, chaperones, and expectations for noise, odor and dust are understood as described in the tour policy.
Tours begin at the HERC Visitor Center at 435 North 5th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401.
• Note that this address is that of a visitor entrance door on the top level on the Target Field Station Parking Ramp.
 Please do not search for the address of the HERC plant (it’s different) and attempt to drive to the HERC plant itself.
• Visitors are encouraged to take public transit, walk, or bike to the facility.
Visitors must wear suitable shoes and clothing for their safety.
• Closed-toe, flat-heel shoes or boots are required. No high heels or sandals allowed.
• Long, ankle length pants, socks and long sleeves are required. Shorts, skirts and short-sleeved shirts are not allowed. Skirts are discouraged because of risk of getting caught in the equipment, but they are allowed if long pants and socks are worn underneath them and the skirt is no longer than ankle length.
• Visitors without appropriate shoes and clothing will not be allowed into the facility.

• Visitors with special needs should speak with the tour guide ahead of the tour for any physical, religious, or other accommodations. Tours may be adapted for handicapped access upon advanced request.
• Visitors should be prepared for noise, dust, smells, climbing several flights of stairs and walking outdoors.
• The inside of the facility is sometimes very dusty. Visitors with respiratory health issues should inform the tour guide of any health concerns in advance.
Visitors or a parent/legal guardian must sign a Visitor Agreement before entering the facility.

• Hennepin County reserves the right to cancel the tour due to an emergency site outage. In the event of a cancellation, the county will notify the tour group as soon as possible and assist in rescheduling.