Midwest utility settlement drops gas plant, adds renewables

By Jeffrey Tomich | 10/04/2024 06:31 AM EDT

Xcel Energy aims to resolve disputes over its plans to meet demand and satisfy a Minnesota law requiring carbon-free electricity by 2040.

Solar panels in Rockford, Minn.

Solar panels in Rockford, Minnesota. Xcel Energy, the state's largest utility, agreed to add 400 megawatts of new solar generation, as well as thousands of megawatts of other renewable energy. Jim Mone/AP

Minnesota’s largest utility agreed to drop plans for a new natural gas plant planned for North Dakota and add thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy and battery storage under a settlement with environmental groups, labor and other parties.

The settlement involving Xcel Energy aims to resolve two cases at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission involving the utility’s long-term plans to meet energy demand and satisfy the state’s climate law requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040.

Xcel will still add a new natural gas plant in Lyon County, Minnesota, under the plan and extend two contracts to purchase gas-fired electricity from plants owned by third parties. But the settlement calls for the utility to add more wind, solar and battery storage than initially proposed.

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The plan “invests in innovation that maximizes value for customers, creates jobs, and supports the communities we serve,” Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy’s operations in Minnesota and the Dakotas, said in a statement.

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