Environment  August 30, 2017

Xcel announces early retirement of two coal plants

BOULDER — Xcel Energy filed plans to move away from coal and announced it plans to retire early two coal plants at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo.

In turn, the energy utility also announced a competitively-bid request for proposal as part of the second phase of its 2016 Electric Resource Plan, seeking up to 1,000 megawatts of wind, up to 700 megawatts of solar and up to 700 megawatts of natural gas. With the proposal, Xcel said carbon emission could be reduced by up to 60 percent by 2026 when compared to levels they had in 2005.

Xcel said it plans to retire 660 megawatts of coal-fired generation units, including Unit No. 1 of the Comanche Generating Station by 2022 and Unit No. 2 no later than the end of 2025. The new Unit No. 3 will remain in service.

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For this to happen, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission will have to approve the new portfolio, which will be filed in the first quarter of 2018 and a decision would be expected later that summer.

In response to the news, the City of Boulder — which is going through the lengthy process of trying to separate from Xcel and create a municipal energy utility — released a statement saying it supports Xcel’s addition of these closures and new clean energy projects to its portfolio.

“If chosen, the Colorado Energy Plan Portfolio has the potential to contribute to the city’s climate and energy goals,” the statement read. “Boulder’s climate goals include reducing emissions 80 percent by 2050 and achieving 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.”

 However, the city pointed out there are issues that need to addressed in Xcel’s Electric Resource Plan proceeding, which the city said it will continue to monitor. Some of the issues the city is interested in include how adding natural gas will affect emissions reductions, the future of distributed solar and whether Xcel’s plan could limit competition. 

BOULDER — Xcel Energy filed plans to move away from coal and announced it plans to retire early two coal plants at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo.

In turn, the energy utility also announced a competitively-bid request for proposal as part of the second phase of its 2016 Electric Resource Plan, seeking up to 1,000 megawatts of wind, up to 700 megawatts of solar and up to 700 megawatts of natural gas. With the proposal, Xcel said carbon emission could be reduced by up to 60 percent by 2026 when compared to levels they had in 2005.

Xcel said it plans…

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