The deals will require construction of $5.6 billion, 695 Megawatt Keeyask hydroelectric dam 725 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the lower Nelson River.

Under the first agreement, Manitoba Hydro will sell Minnesota Power 250 megawatts from 2020 to 2035. The deal also allows Minnesota to essentially use Manitoba as a "rechargeable battery" by storing energy from wind farms in North Dakota.

Manitoba Hydro also announced a deal with Wisconsin Public Service for 100 megawatts from 2021 to 2027.

Combined with a previously completed 125 MW sale to Northern States Power in Minnesota (part of Xcel Energy), these sales total 475 MW with an estimated value of $4 billion.

An environmental license to construct the Keeyask dam has not yet been issued or applied for, but planning has been in the works for years. There is no public information about when Manitoba Hydro will file an environmental statement for public review. A Joint Keeyask Development Agreement was signed May 29, 2009 with the nearby First Nation communities of Fox Lake Cree Nation, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation and York Factory First Nation.

The power export deals still need regulatory approval in Canada and the U.S.