Xcel Energy

In my “Speaking of Power” column last month, I explained that JEA, a community-owned utility in northeast Florida, is contemplating privatization. One of the reasons JEA is considering the change is that

Xcel to Take Advantage of Distributed Intelligence and Distribution Automation LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Sept. 17 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, and Xcel Energy entered an agreement to secure smart meters that will allow for collaboration to improve customer experience and utility operations […]

The growth of wind power worldwide is literally transforming the energy landscape, with massive turbine blades providing a visual backdrop. Xcel Energy’s Rush Creek project, covering 95,000 acres in eastern

Xcel Energy’s effort to purchase a 760-MW natural gas combined cycle facility in Mankato, Minnesota, from Southern Power, a wholesale energy provider and subsidiary of Southern Company, is meeting resistance from two state agencies. The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recommended the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission […]

Venture capital investments in battery storage companies and projects rose significantly year-over-year through the first six months of 2019, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group. That level of activity is consistent with the growth in energy storage noted by speakers on July 24 at the Storage Week Plus conference in San Francisco, California. […]

A group of project managers and engineers overcame a host of challenges to help an iconic Minnesota power plant complete its switch from coal-fired power to natural gas. Converting a coal-fired power plant to

Xcel Energy on May 20 announced it would close its two remaining coal plants in Minnesota over the next decade, and the utility said it also wants to operate its Monticello nuclear plant in the state until at least 2040. Xcel, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves electricity and natural gas customers in […]

Minnesota and Wisconsin recently joined the list of states aiming for a 100% clean-energy future, while some Illinois lawmakers are pushing for not only carbon-free power, but also 100% renewable energy. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was the latest to announce a set of policy proposals designed to lead his state’s electricity sector to 100% […]

Xcel Energy said it will buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Minnesota from Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. The $650 million deal for the Mankato Energy Center puts Xcel in charge of a facility from which it has purchased power since the plant’s first unit came online in 2006. A second unit […]

Fargo, ND (August 9, 2018) — Xcel Energy celebrated the construction of its newest 150-megawatt wind facility in central North Dakota today. The event featured local landowners, company representatives, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and other state and local officials. The Foxtail Wind project will provide low-cost wind energy to nearly 80,000 homes when it’s completed […]

Xcel Energy, citing “historically low” costs for wind and solar power, said it wants to double its generation from renewable sources. Colorado’s largest utility also said it will retire two coal-fired units representing 660 MW at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo at least 10 years ahead of schedule. The changes were outlined in a […]

A lot of things factor into success at a coal-fired power plant, but leadership and teamwork certainly rank high on the list. Comanche Generating Station has parlayed those two attributes, among others, into a

Natural disasters can strike anywhere, and the events of recent years—hurricanes, flooding rains, bomb cyclones—have ramped up the efforts of utilities to prepare for extreme weather. Power companies are

A bill that would have provided more cost-recovery certainty for Xcel Energy’s two Minnesota nuclear plants didn’t get through the state House of Representatives prior to the legislative session ending on May 20, effectively killing the measure. The bill would have allowed Xcel to submit proposals to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) designating each […]

Retiring coal plants and increasing renewables key to company’s clean energy transition MINNEAPOLIS, May 22 /CSRwire/ – Xcel Energy is a step closer to achieving one of the most aggressive carbon-reduction goals in the industry. Today, the company announced it cut carbon emissions 35 percent, according to its newly released Corporate Responsibility Report. This puts Xcel […]

MINNEAPOLIS (April 5, 2018) – Xcel Energy is continuing to transition its fleet to carbon-free energy in the Upper Midwest  with the addition of the Foxtail Wind Energy Center located in Dickey County in south-central North Dakota. The 150-megawatt wind farm is part of the company’s vision to achieve 85 percent clean energy by 2030 by […]

As another hurricane season approaches, the lessons learned by energy companies that have repaired power infrastructure in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and other areas provide a path forward for reducing the impact of

Following the lead of Illinois and New York, which have enacted policies supporting nuclear power plants, the Minnesota Legislature is weighing a bill that could help the owner of two nuclear facilities within its borders. Minnesota is home to the single-unit 671-MW Monticello nuclear plant and the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island plant (Figure 1). Xcel […]

The rise of digital technologies for power plants has moved in fits and starts over the past several years, with some generators quickly embracing digitization of their assets while others are looking to justify potential investments. Suppliers of digital technologies have widely marketed the benefits, but many generators are looking to current end users for […]

U.S. utilities continue to send workers to Puerto Rico to help restore that country’s electricity and rebuild its power infrastructure, a task that continues more than four months after back-to-back hurricanes left nearly all of the island in the dark. The Puerto Rican government this week said 83% of the island’s generation capacity has been […]

Latest Investment Will Expand Global Reach of Powerphase Products, Which Increase Efficiency of Clean Power Production JUPITER, FLA. (PRWEB) Powerphase announced that it has closed an investment from strategic investors including Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL), the nation’s top wind energy provider. In addition to the investment from Xcel Energy, Powerphase is welcoming ClearSky Managing Director James Huff […]

The region’s largest expansion of wind energy will be developed by local companies, Xcel Energy announced today. Golden Valley, Minn.-based Mortenson Construction will construct the Blazing Star 1 and Blazing Star 2 wind farms in southwest Minnesota. Fargo, North Dakota-based Wanzek Construction will build the Foxtail Wind Farm in North Dakota and the Freeborn Wind […]

Construction is complete and the Eau Claire Solar* Connect Community one-megawatt solar garden is now generating clean, renewable energy for its subscribers. Xcel Energy, along with solar-developer Pristine Sun, the city of Eau Claire who owns the seven-acre property, and subscribers celebrated its completion at a ribbon-cutting today. More than 3,000 solar panels sit atop […]

Xcel Energy on August 29 said it wants to retire 660 MW of coal-fired generation capacity as part of a “Colorado Energy Plan” that also includes adding as much as 1,700 MW of renewable energy and 700 MW of natural gas-fired power generation to its portfolio in the state. A key element of the proposal […]

Project Optimizes Denver’s Peña Station NEXT Net-Zero Energy Development The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is partnering with Panasonic Corporation and Xcel Energy to simulate and optimize the energy load profile of Peña Station NEXT, a planned 382-acre mixed-use development in Denver, Colo. The project will employ the grid modeling […]

Renewable*Connect® to provide solar and wind energy for convention center and City’s drinking water facility Minneapolis (July 18, 2017) –  The Minneapolis Convention Center and one of the City’s two drinking water campuses will be powered, in part, by local solar and wind energy from Xcel Energy’s Renewable*Connect program. Hundreds of other Minnesota electric customers, […]

Xcel Energy plans to add about 1,550 MW of wind power to its portfolio in the Upper Midwest with the addition of seven wind farms expected to be operational by year-end 2020. The additions are among 11 new wind farms announced over the past year by Xcel in seven states that would add a total […]

Company’s Y.Cube C&I energy storage systems at the heart of Peña Station NEXT development  Berlin (Germany) and Denver, Colorado (USA), April 18, 2017 – Younicos has commissioned a 1 MW / 2 MWh lithium-ion battery system in partnership with Panasonic and Xcel Energy. The news was announced at the Energy Storage Association’s 27th Annual Conference, which offered […]

Proposals for new wind resources grows company wind portfolio 50 percent MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL), the nation’s leading utility wind energy provider, has plans to make the largest multi-state investment in wind capacity in the country. The company has proposed 11 new wind farms in seven states, which would add a total of 3,380 […]

A bill signed by Minnesota’s Gov. Mark Dayton (D) on February 28 allows Xcel Energy to build a 786-MW combined cycle gas-fired power plant without approval from state regulators. The governor signed Chapter 5, House File 113, a bill that had bipartisan support of the state’s legislators, to allow the Minneapolis-based power company to move […]