By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
Yesterday, we wrote about how utilities didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about the new rules the Trump Administration had laid out to weaken regulation on coal plants. In fact, most of the utilities discussed in the article reaffirmed their commitment to growing their renewable portfolios at varying speeds.
And today we have another real-life example of the shift that is coming in utilities’ attitudes both toward traditional coal plants and renewable energy.
Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, won approval from the Public Utilities Commission to ramp up its investments in renewable energy to to the tune of nearly 2,000 MW of solar and wind and 300 MW of battery storage.
Oh, and in the process, they’ve also pledged to close nearly one-third of their coal plants, according to an article in The Denver Post.
As The Post notes:
As part of the plan, Xcel, Colorado’s largest electric utility, will phase out its Comanche 1 and 2 coal-fired plants in Pueblo about a decade earlier than the original target date of 2035. Xcel says the plan will invest $2.5 billion in eight counties and save customers about $213 million, thanks to the declining costs of renewable energy.
The breakdown of the renewables is as follows:
- 1,100 MW of wind
- 700 MW of solar
- 275 MW of battery storage
Company officials were delighted by the PUC’s decision and said they looked forward to a clean-energy future for Colorado.
“The Colorado Energy Plan Portfolio is a transformative plan that delivers on our vision of long-term, low-cost clean renewable energy for our customers, stimulating economic development in rural Colorado, and substantially reducing our carbon emissions,” Alice Jackson, Xcel Energy Colorado president, said in a written statement. “We are excited to move forward.”
Colorado has long been a renewable energy leader. It was one of the first states to experiment with community solar, and its solar and wind development has continued apace, even when policies didn’t ideally line up with the overall renewable energy goals. Now with Xcel Energy making such a large commitment, you’ll likely see other state utilities get on board, which could drive Colorado further up the list of solar-friendly states in the country. One can only hope these developments spur that kind of reaction.
More:
Colorado regulators green-light Xcel’s plan boosting renewables, cutting coal