EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The state may purchase nearly 1,000 acres of land along the Lower Chippewa River in northwestern Wisconsin from Xcel Energy which once had plans to build a nuclear plant on the site.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will be asked to approve the purchase of the property in Dunn County from the Minneapolis-based utility for about $2 million. The land southwest of Eau Claire includes part of the Chippewa River trail and 18,000 feet of river shoreline.

Xcel once had plans to build a $1.3 billion nuclear power plant at the site — then later a coal-fired plant. But those plans were scrapped ten years ago and the company recently decided to sell the land as it evaluated its assets.