Xcel Energy to end coal use and include nuclear in new commitment to renewables

Published on May 20, 2019 by Hil Anderson


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Credit: Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy will keep one of its nuclear power plants in Minnesota humming for at least another two decades as part of a wide plan to shut down its two remaining coal plants ahead of schedule and transition to a 100 percent carbon-free fuel mix by 2050.

Xcel, along with a cadre of environmental organizations and leaders of one of its key labor unions, announced the proposals May 20, vowing to decommission the two coal plants by 2030. At the same time, the company will greatly expand its wind and solar assets and augment its power needs by using more natural gas and keeping the Monticello Nuclear Generating Station on line until 2040.

“This is a significant step forward as we are on track to reduce carbon emissions more than 80 percent by 2030 and transform the way we deliver energy to our customers,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy – Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.

The proposal, known as the Upper Midwest Energy Plan, goes to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for its approval on July 1.

The plan features a general revamping of Xcel’s generating menu that has been in the works already:

• Adding 1,850 megawatts (MW) of wind generation by 2022;
• Adding 3,000 MW of solar capacity by 2030;
• Decommissioning the Allen S. King coal plant in 2028;
• Decommissioning the Sherco 3 coal plant in 2030;
• Restricting the amount of coal burned by the Sherco 2 plant, which is scheduled to be retired in 2023;
• Completing the previously announced purchase of the 730-MW gas-fired Mankato Energy Center from Southern Company later this year.

As for the Monticello facility, the new plan will require Xcel to renew the plant’s operating license in 2030; the last renewal was granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2006. Xcel said the plant’s 671-MW capacity supplies about 10 percent of Xcel’s electricity in the upper Midwest with no greenhouse gas emissions. Xcel also operates the Prairie Island nuclear plant, a 1,100-MW behemoth that is licensed until 2034. Xcel told Daily Energy Insider they were still considering whether to seek a renewed license for Prairie Island.

One of the organizations that endorsed the Upper Midwest Energy Plan this week was the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “Xcel Energy was the first major utility in the United States to adopt a goal of 100 percent carbon-free
electricity by 2050,” said James Gignac, lead Midwest energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The proposal announced today shows the company’s commitment to responding to the urgent threat of climate change in ways that save customers money and promotes local economies and jobs.”

The UCS approved of the new Xcel plan, but with regard to the company’s plan to operate the Monticello nuclear plant until at least 2040, said in a written statement: “This concept will require close examination by stakeholders and regulators on whether it is the most cost-effective path toward a 100 percent carbon-free electricity future and whether the plant can continue to operate safely beyond 60 years.”

Winding down Xcel’s coal generation along with the ambitious expansion of its solar and wind assets has environmentalists singing the praises of the proposal and vowing to support the utility during the transition to 100 percent carbon-free electricity.

“The cost of solar has declined 88 percent since 2009, making the addition of solar to the Xcel Energy portfolio not only great for keeping our air and water clean, but also great for their customers’ pocketbooks,” Clean Grid Alliance Executive Director Beth Soholt said in a statement. “The renewable energy industry is ready, willing, and able to build these projects and work to ensure local skilled labor has the opportunity to access these great jobs.”

The green activists and Xcel were joined in the announcement by leaders of the LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, a unit of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), which represents skilled construction workers, including Xcel employees. The union got on board thanks to an agreement that its members would be included in the renewables expansion. The move should address at least some of the concerns about utility workers losing their jobs at existing plants and then being excluded from new clean-energy projects.

“This proposal will help to ensure that we create the same kind of high-quality jobs as we move toward a clean energy future by prioritizing employment of skilled local labor and utilizing registered apprenticeship programs to train the next-generation workforce,” said Tim Mackey, president of LIUNA Minnesota & North Dakota.