Xcel Energy

The last coal-fired power generation unit in Washington state, scheduled to close by year-end, is the latest U.S. coal facility ordered to remain in operation by the Trump administration. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on December 16 told TransAlta, a Calgary, Canada-based independent power producer (IPP), to keep the 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia Unit 2 […]

Xcel Energy is making a first-of-its-kind proposal to build out a battery storage network across Minnesota, optimizing the state’s energy grid and helping the company meet the growing electricity needs of the communities it serves. Under its Capacity*Connect proposal, Xcel Energy on October 6 said it will install up to 200 MW of battery storage […]

Xcel Energy is adding more natural gas-fired power generation in Texas, with plans to convert a retiring coal-fired plant to natural gas, along with building a new peaker plant to provide electricity at times of high demand.

Xcel Energy’s comprehensive modernization of the Cabin Creek pumped-storage facility—featuring an innovative 11-blade turbine runner—earned the station a POWER Top Plant award. The retrofit project not

A volunteer advisory group told the utility that serves Colorado’s second-largest city that it should look at adding a small nuclear reactor for additional power generation.

Xcel Energy said the company’s coal-fired Harrington Generating Station in Amarillo, Texas should fully complete its transition to burning natural gas in May. Harrington, whose three units have 1,018 MW of generation capacity, was Xcel’s first coal-fired power plant in Texas. It came online in 1976. The utility in 2020 made the decision to convert […]

A new natural gas-fired peaker plant being built on Colorado’s eastern plains will feature aeroderivative gas power packages from GE Vernova. The Mountain Peak Power Plant, which will be managed and operated by Princeton, New Jersey-based Kindle Energy, and will serve the United Power electric cooperative, is expected to come online in 2025. GE Vernova’s […]

A report published by the Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC) says the closure of Comanche Unit 3, a coal-fired power plant capable of generating about 800 MW gross, will have “devastating impacts on the economy of Pueblo unless the community, Xcel Energy, and other stakeholders begin planning now for replacement of the highly […]

The Bighorn Solar farm has been called the future of renewable energy. It’s a project dedicated to providing cleaner power for a major industrial facility, while also investing in the community and

Two employees of a company that manages coal-handling operations for Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Colorado were killed June 2 when they were trapped in a coal pile that collapsed at the power plant. The collapse happened Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. Mountain time, according to officials. Rescue crews located the victims Thursday afternoon. […]

Electrification—replacing fossil fuels with electricity to provide power—is a major part of the global effort toward decarbonization. It touches many sectors, and is sparking even more discussion about its

PUEBLO, Colo. (March 9, 2022) – McCarthy Building Companies recently completed construction and commissioning of the 300 MW Bighorn Solar project in Pueblo, Colo. It is the first of two large-scale solar projects the company’s Renewable Energy & Storage Group is building in the area in conjunction with Lightsource bp, the project owner. Located on […]

Xcel Energy is exploring a role as operator of the 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP), potentially becoming a key member of the first-of-its-kind small modular reactor (SMR) power plant that is under development at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site in Idaho Falls. The development is another sizable step for the six-module NuScale Power VOYGR project. […]

A new frontier for nuclear energy in the United States is under exploration, and Xcel Energy is at the forefront with a project to produce hydrogen, most likely at its Prairie Island plant near Red Wing, Minnesota. “Our carbon-free nuclear fleet has been key to our energy system for decades,” said Pat Burke, vice president […]

Palo Verde Generating Station, a 4-GW nuclear power plant in Arizona, is gearing up to produce hydrogen from a low-temperature electrolysis (LTE) system, and that hydrogen will then be used to fuel a natural gas–fired power plant owned by Arizona Public Service (APS). The innovative power-to-power demonstration led by PNW Hydrogen is set to receive […]

NuScale Power and Xcel Energy agree to examine future partnerships PORTLAND, Ore. — NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale) is pleased to announce it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Xcel Energy Inc. (Xcel Energy), a leading energy utility provider, to explore the feasibility of Xcel Energy serving as a plant operator at NuScale Plants. […]

Xcel Energy is pivoting from its plan to build a new 800-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the site of its Sherco coal-fired facility in Becker, Minnesota. Instead, Xcel plans to build two smaller gas-fired “peaker” plants, one in Minnesota and one in North Dakota, as part of a new initiative for the utility’s power […]

MINNEAPOLIS & DENVER (May 12, 2021) – Xcel Energy announced today that it will purchase certified low-emission intensity natural gas produced by Crestone Peak Resources for use in its Colorado operations. The partnership between Colorado’s largest energy provider and a leading energy producer in Colorado, comes amid growing interest in using environment, social and governance […]

The plan to retire the last coal-fired units at a power plant in Colorado has moved a step closer to completion, with the announcement that Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) has chosen General Electric (GE) technology to keep the plant operating at least temporarily as a gas-fired facility. GE on Feb. 10 announced that six of […]

DENVER (Aug. 5, 2020) – The City and County of Denver will host up to 15 MW of community solar gardens on municipal rooftops, over parking lots, and vacant land as part of a signed Master Services Agreement with McKinstry, GRID Alternatives, and Unico Solar Investors. The project is part of the Renewable Denver Initiative, which […]

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s request to offer two of its coal units into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market on a seasonal basis. That means the company can idle the two units for six months of the year, which is expected to save customers money while also reducing air emissions. “This […]

The five owners of a 410-MW coal-fired unit at the Craig Generating Station in Colorado have said they will retire the generator on Sept. 30, 2028, about one year before what will then be the last operating unit at the facility will be shuttered. Owners of the Yampa Project—Units 1 and 2 at the site […]

Two coal plants operated by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) will close early after the agency’s board voted June 26 to retire the facilities. The move will leave Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, as the only group still operating coal-fired units in the state after 2030. The CSU board in a 7-2 vote Friday decided to […]

Four U.S. nuclear generators—Energy Harbor, Xcel Energy, Exelon, and Arizona Public Service (APS)—are making headway on projects to demonstrate hydrogen production at nuclear plants, but scaling those efforts up to net new end-users and sources of revenue is still ridden with hurdles, company officials said in a panel discussion at the American Nuclear Society’s (ANS’s) […]

U.S. power plant operators continue to change procedures at their facilities, including pushing back scheduled maintenance, due to lockdowns and quarantines associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The changes are impacting companies such as General Electric (GE) and Siemens, which are major service providers to power plants, at a time when these global companies already are […]

Xcel Energy on April 6 announced the sale of the 760-MW Mankato Energy Center (MEC) gas-fired power plant in Minnesota, less than three months after purchasing the plant for $650 million from Southern Co. Xcel had said the MEC was an important piece of the utility’s goal to be carbon-free by 2050. Xcel reached a […]

POWER magazine was scheduled to host the 22nd annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition April 14–17, 2020, at the Colorado Convention Center (Figure 1) in Denver, Colorado. However, out of concern

Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. Community solar allows homeowners, renters

Decarbonization is a word that seems to be used quite regularly these days. For the power industry, it refers to the shift in electric generating resources from carbon-heavy coal to carbon-free nuclear or

Xcel Energy has announced an agreement with Lightsource BP and EVRAZ North America to develop a $250-million, 240-MW solar power facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The plant will provide power to the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel facility in Pueblo. Xcel said the plant will be the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single company. The […]