Xcel Energy corporate responsibility report details carbon emissions reductions

Xcel Energy recently released its 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report, which details the company’s carbon emissions reductions and clean energy progress.

According to the report, the company reduced its carbon emissions by 35 percent from 2005 baseline levels by the end of 2017. The company said that it is on track to reduce carbon emission by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2022. Xcel is aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2030.

The company’s clean energy strategy, Xcel said, includes retiring 20 coal units between 2005 and 2026, while increasing the use of natural gas and renewable facilities. It also plans to operate its nuclear plants in the Upper Midwest through their licensing periods in the early 2030s.

“For the last five years, our average residential electricity and natural gas bills have declined, and our goal is to keep bills flat or at the rate of inflation while we invest in clean energy,” Xcel Energy said in a press release. “That’s because we can put low-cost, emissions-free wind energy on our system today without sacrificing reliability and save on fuel and other costs that come with operating fossil-fueled plants.”

Xcel Energy’s Colorado Energy Plan, which could result in approximately $2.5 billion in clean energy investments, is currently awaiting approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).