The utility cited older plant retirements and projected electricity demand increases as reasons for a “major expansion” in the area.

According to Xcel Energy, power forecasts show the region has a future need over 3 GW of accredited capacity, which would translate to more than 5 GW of additional nameplate capacity by the end of the decade. The utility said the current peak demand in its Texas-New Mexico service area is a little more than 6 GW.

Xcel Energy owns and operates a fleet of conventional plants in this region, along with two large wind energy facilities. The region’s energy mix also includes electricity generated by outside suppliers and sold to Xcel through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The RFP is seeking options for new PPAs, extensions or changes to existing long-term PPAs, self-build projects and build projects that transfer to the utility.

Bids from developers are due by Jan. 3, 2025. Xcel Energy will evaluate submissions with proposed commercial operation dates within or before May 1, 2027, to May 1, 2030. Individual projects selected will be submitted for approval to the NMPRC and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, with decisions expected in summer 2026.

The plan, submitted to Minnesota utility regulators, details proposed steps and resource additions to be added during the 2024-2040 time period.

Reliability is important as Xcel plans to exit coal by the end of 2030 – a reduction of approximately 2,400 MW through the retirements of Sherco Unit 1 in 2026, King in 2028, and Sherco Unit 3 in 2030. In that same time, 1,700 MW of PPAs, the majority for natural gas generation, are set to expire between 2025 and 2028.

Xcel Energy is notably proposing to extend the operating life of its two Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant units by 20 years, to 2053 and 2054, and the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant by 10 years, to 2050. This would match the 20-year life-extensions the utility is working to obtain from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The company also proposes extending the lives of its Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) waste to energy generating facilities.

What Xcel calls its preferred plan includes additions of 3,200 MW of wind generation, 400 MW of utility-scale solar generation and 600 MW of standalone storage through 2030.

The utility said the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) unlocked a projected $5.7 billion in additional federal tax incentives for its utility-scale renewable and storage resource additions. Xcel said it anticipates additional cost savings from the IRA for its existing renewable and nuclear resources.

Xcel Energy is proposing to add more than 2,200 MW of firm capacity resources to back up renewables and supply power during peak demand on the hottest summer days and coldest winter nights. The utility notes some of this could come through extensions of current PPAs.

“We have modeled these firm dispatchable additions as combustion turbine resources that are relatively low-cost to build, do not operate for much of the year, and in the future, could run at least partially on clean fuels like hydrogen,” the company said in filings to Minnesota regulators.

The utility said these gas plants are “designed operate only 5-10 percent of the year.”

Xcel noted it is also examining advanced technologies such as new battery chemistries, advanced nuclear reactors and hydrogen. As new technologies mature, the utility said it would include them in its resource planning.

MORE: Xcel Energy to add multi-day battery storage at two retiring coal plants

Like other areas in the country, Xcel projects increased electricity demand. Its case forecasts now anticipate average annual growth rates of 1.8 percent in peak demand and 2 percent for the utility’s energy forecast over the 2024-2040 planning period.

The Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC) was assembled to study and make recommendations regarding future plans at Comanche Generating Station, located in Pueblo, Colorado. The 11-member committee released its recommendations in a new report.

The recommendations are expected to inform how Xcel Energy replaces Comanche 3 as part of its next resource plan, expected to be filed in June 2024. That proposal will include a summary of bids submitted by developers to supply generation by the end of 2031.

After reviewing the clean energy technologies that could be available by 2031, the committee concluded that the scope should be expanded to 2034, citing the lack of resources available by 2031 that could also provide a satisfactory amount of jobs. Comanche 3 is set to close in 2031.

PIESAC recommended top replacement options of “advanced nuclear” such as small modular reactors (SMRs), or a new combined cycle gas plant with carbon capture. But the committee clearly favored the SMR option, citing more jobs and tax benefits.

The committee said a combined cycle plant with carbon capture would generate 20 to 25 jobs, along with tax payments of approximately $16.5 million a year. But an advanced nuclear plant could potentially provide 200 to 300 jobs and tax payments of $95.29 million annually.

“Of all of the technologies that we studied, only advanced nuclear generation will make Pueblo whole and also provide a path to prosperity,” the committee said in the report.

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The report `also noted the potential economic impact of closing the coal plant. Over $15 million of the $25 million in taxes paid by Xcel Energy to Pueblo annually comes from Comanche 3. The committee estimated that closing Comanche 3 in 2031 instead of the originally planned date of 2070 will result in $845 million in lost taxes for Pueblo.

Xcel’s Clean Energy Plan, approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in 2022, aims to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 85% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, and to provide Colorado customers with electricity from 80% renewable sources. To meet these goals, Xcel has planned the retirement of several coal plants, including Comanche Station Unit 3.

The report estimates that closing the Comanche 3 plant will result in a 36.8% reduction in Xcel’s emissions and a 20.5% reduction of statewide emissions from the electric sector as compared to 2005 levels.

An Xcel Energy spokesperson sent us a statement which reads in part: “We’ll continue studying advanced nuclear technology as it matures and determine if it can provide clean, reliable and affordable energy for customers in all eight of our states, but especially in Pueblo, Colorado.” 

Comanche Station sprawls roughly 695 acres and includes three coal generation units. 460 acres are currently being used and 220 are undeveloped, the report said, with 12 acres being used for a long-duration battery storage project.

Comanche 1 closed in 2022 and Comanche 2 is scheduled to close in 2025. The Comanche Station has existing assets that could be re-used for later generation, including a rail network, transmission capacity and injection, and a take or pay water contract with the Pueblo Board of Waterworks for 13,000 acre feet per year through 2060.

The utility is seeking projects located in southwest Minnesota that would be commercially operable by the end of 2027. Xcel Energy said these new wind resources, combined with solar and energy storage projects, would help replace the capacity of the coal-fired Sherco plant in Becker.

The transition is part of the company’s Upper Midwest Integrated Resource Plan, approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in 2022.

The Sherco site plays an important role in Xcel Energy’s plan to cut emissions. The utility has proposed a transmission line that would deliver 2,000 MW of renewable energy to the grid at Sherco.

In April 2023, the company broke ground on a 710 MW solar project near the coal plant site. Once complete, the project would fully replace the first Sherco coal unit, which is scheduled to retire by the end of the year.

The company has also received state approval on a long-duration battery storage pilot project at Sherco.

The projects will be located where the utility plans to retire two coal-fired plants in Minnesota and Colorado. Each will utilize Form Energy’s iron-air battery technology and have the capacity of 10 MW/1,000 MWh.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has already approved the iron-air battery project at the Sherburne County Generating Station site in Becker, Minnesota. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024. The project is to be located near one of the largest solar developments in the U.S., the upcoming 710 MW Sherco Solar project.

Pending approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, work on the Colorado battery system could begin in late-2024. The battery would be located at the Comanche Generating Station site in Pueblo, Colorado. The request is part of a $15 billion utility proposal to add wind, solar, natural gas, biomass and energy storage resources to meet the state’s forecasted demand through 2028.

Xcel said the Colorado plan, which calls for 6,500 MW of new renewable energy and battery storage resources, would double the amount of renewable energy on its system in the state.

The $70 million award comes from a total of $325 million announced by DOE for 15 long-duration energy storage projects across 17 states and one tribal nation. The funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Separate from the DOE funding, Xcel Energy received a $20 million grant commitment in April 2023 from the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst fund for the Minnesota and Colorado battery systems. In addition to the grants, Xcel Energy plans to use standalone storage tax credits in the federal Inflation Reduction Act to further lower the cost of the projects.

Form Energy has signed deals to deploy its battery with utilities such as Xcel Energy, Southern Company, and Great River Energy, and recently broke ground on a commercial-scale battery plant in West Virginia.

At a high level, the basic principle of Form Energy’s battery operation is reversible rusting. The battery contains an iron anode, resembling an automobile’s brake pad, and an air-breathing cathode. They are submersed in an electrolyte water bath with a permeable separation between them.

When the iron is exposed to the oxygen and air, it triggers a chemical process called oxidation – otherwise known as rusting. That oxidation process releases electrons that are separated and sent to the grid – providing electricity when demand exceeds supply.  When there is excess power on the grid, the process is reversed and electrons flow in, releasing the oxygen and causing the iron to unrust, taking it back to a metallic state.

According to its Colorado Clean Energy Plan, the utility plans to add wind, solar, natural gas, biomass and energy storage resources to meet the state’s forecasted demand through 2028. Xcel said the the plan would allow for 80% of its system in the state to run on renewables by 2030.

The plan calls for 6,500 MW of new renewable energy resources and battery storage.

The plan also proposes building 630 MW of new natural gas-fired generation. The utility said the proposal would overall result in a net decrease of 740 MW of gas-fired power on its system.

The plan also includes additional investments in transmission infrastructure.

Xcel Energy’s proposal is subject to approval by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which has until the end of the year to accept or reject it.

Xcel Energy aims to reduce its carbon emissions in Colorado by more than 80% by 2030 from 2005 levels and eliminate the use of coal by the end of 2030.

Specific to the plan, the utility is proposing a new biomass facility at Hayden Generation, where it plans to retire all coal units by the end of 2028. The facility would use forest waste from fire prevention activities and wood as fuel.

With the retirement of Xcel Energy’s existing Alamosa natural gas-fired combustion turbine in 2025, the utility is proposing a new 28 MW combustion turbine to back up existing electric service in the San Luis Valley. Xcel is also proposing a new combustion turbine in Fort Lupton to provide peaking power for the Denver metro area.

To cover the costs of the plan, Xcel is asking state regulators to approve a rate increase of 2.3%. This means that adjusted for inflation, the average residential customer’s monthly bill in 2030 would be about $10 more than today.

Read the plan here

State regulators approved Xcel’s application to increase the storage of spent nuclear fuel at the site, opening the door for at least 10 more years of operation.

As part of extending the use of the Monticello plant, the utility has also filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to request an extension of the plant’s operating license. This review process is extensive, and a decision from federal regulators isn’t expected until late 2024.

In November 2022 about 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water containing tritium leaked from a faulty pipe at the plant. Xcel Energy made a temporary fix but learned in March 2023 that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pipe.

While the utility and health officials say there is no threat or danger due to the leak, the issue has prompted concerns among residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.

More than half of the tritium that leaked from the pipe had been recovered, officials said in May.

The 571 MW Monticello plant is located about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Xcel’s Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants combined provide more than 30% of the electricity that the utility’s customers use in the Upper Midwest. Minnesota has a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.

The utility is requesting proposals for approximately 650 MW of new solar or solar and storage projects in Wisconsin, with commercial operation dates from 2027 to 2029.

This would help replace the capacity of the Allen S. King coal-fired plant in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota that is scheduled to retire in 2028. Xcel Energy plans to reuse existing grid connections at the plant site.

Under Xcel Energy’s Upper Midwest Energy Plan, more than 80% of customers’ electricity in the region would be carbon free by the end of the decade. The plan calls for retiring all the company’s coal plants by 2030, dramatically increasing wind and solar energy and extending the use of nuclear energy.

In April, the company broke ground on the Upper Midwest’s largest solar project near Becker, Minnesota, which will replace much of the generation from the first Sherco coal unit that is scheduled to retire later in 2023.

The utility asked on May 8 to add a third solar array adjacent to the 460 MW Sherco Solar project already under construction. 

The three projects are expected to be complete by the end of 2025 and are intended to replace the capacity of the Sherco plant’s first coal unit that is scheduled to retire later in 2023. Xcel Energy also asked to buy power under a 20-year agreement from the 100 MW Apple River solar project being developed by National Grid Renewables in northwest Wisconsin.

The utility said it expects to qualify for federal tax credits for the Sherco solar projects.

“These projects will be the lowest-cost solar on our Upper Midwest system,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy – Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. 

Xcel Energy would develop, own, and operate the third Sherco Solar array. Last fall, Minnesota regulators approved the first two solar projects at the Sherco plant site. Construction began on the first project in late April.

The utility said it is on track to cut carbon emissions 85% from customers’ electricity in the Upper Midwest by 2030. The company plans to retire all of its coal units by the end of 2030.

Its proposed Minnesota Energy Connection transmission line would link at least 2,000 MW of new renewable energy to the grid at Sherco. The company is also seeking approval for a long-duration battery storage pilot project at the facility.

Originally published by Renewable Energy World.

$10 million would each support the two 10 MW/1,000 MWh iron-air battery systems Xcel Energy and Massachusetts-based Form Energy are constructing at the sites of retiring coal plants.

The partnership between Xcel and Form, announced in January, would allow for the long-duration energy storage to be built at the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota, and the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, Colorado. Both projects are expected to come online as early as 2025 and are subject to regulatory approvals.

The batteries will allow Xcel Energy to store renewable energy such as solar and wind when it is being produced and then later distribute the energy during periods of lower production.

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst funds and invests in emerging climate technologies and related projects aimed at accelerating the clean energy transition. The grant represents Catalyst’s first partnership with a utility.

Xcel Energy plans to use renewable energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act to further lower the cost of the iron-air batteries.

Xcel Energy has a goal of reducing carbon emissions 80% by 2030 and to deliver carbon-free electricity by 2050.