Xcel wants to add 200 megawatts of wind power

DENVER – Xcel Energy has proposed buying 200 megawatts of additional and low-cost wind generation for its Windsource program.

If the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approves a filing made by
the company Thursday, the wind energy would be purchased from NextEra
Energy Resources LLC, which produces power at its Limon Wind Energy
Center II in Lincoln County near Limon.

This proposal was originally developed by Xcel and NextEra as a
potential offering for the city of Boulder, as part of the utility’s
franchise negotiations. Boulder city council Tuesday placed two
questions on the November ballot asking voters to approve creation and
funding of a municipally owned utility to replace the franchise
agreement with Xcel Energy that was not renewed last year.

“This proposed purchase contains the lowest-cost wind energy we’ve seen,
making it competitive with other energy sources,´ said David Eves,
president and CEO of Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy
company, in a prepared statement. “Even though Xcel Energy is ahead of
schedule to meet Colorado’s 30 percent renewable energy standard by
2020, we can take advantage of historically low wind prices to give our
customers more choice in the energy powering their home and businesses.”

The purchase will give Xcel Energy in Colorado a total of more than
2,100 megawatts of wind generation on its system. Renewable energy
currently makes up nearly 12 percent of the company’s energy supply mix
in the state, with the majority of that from wind power, according to
Xcel officials.

This is the first of two applications Xcel Energy plans to file with the
PUC. The second filing, expected within 45 days, will discuss the
details of the new Windsource product offerings.

Xcel Energy will schedule stakeholder meetings in the near future to
take input on product design, prior to making the final filing with the
PUC.

The company’s Windsource program, launched in 1998, is one of the
largest voluntary green-energy programs in the United States, according
to Xcel. Last year, more than 61,000 residential customers and 1,300
businesses in Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota and Wisconsin purchased
renewable energy through Windsource.