XCEL SCRAPPING PLAN TO BUILD NEW 800-MW GAS-FIRED PLANT

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 generation in the Midwest.

Xcel also proposed two repowered gas-fired plants — one in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and another in Wisconsin — that also would run only during periods of high demand for electricity. The utility, based in Minneapolis and with operations in eight states, outlined its proposal in a plan submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on June 25.

Xcel still plans to close its Minnesota coal-fired power plants, including Sherco’s three units that have more than 2,200 MW of generation capacity, by 2030. Sherco — short for Sherburne County Generating Station — began operating in the 1970s. Xcel in the plan released Friday reiterated that it plans to keep its single-reactor nuclear plant in Monticello, Minnesota, operating until at least 2040, which is a decade beyond its current operating license. Xcel also said it would add more solar and wind power generation capacity in the region, along with energy storage for renewable energy, in the next several years. Xcel said the latest plan would save the utility about $600 million compared to the earlier proposal. The utility said the new effort would reduce carbon emissions 85 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, compared to 80 percent in its previous plan. The utility has said it wants to produce carbon-free electricity by 2050.

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