Batteries

Xcel Energy gets $20 million for long-duration battery projects

Xcel Energy and Form Energy are building 10 MW/1,000 MWh iron-air battery systems in Minnesota and Colorado.
Xcel Energy gets $20 million for long-duration battery projects
(Xcel Energy's Comanche Generating Station. Source: Wikimedia.)

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst has agreed to commit $20 million in funding for two multi-day energy storage projects under Xcel Energy.

$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.

Tags