Xcel Scrapping Plan to Build New 800-MW Gas-Fired Plant
The post Xcel Scrapping Plan to Build New 800-MW Gas-Fired Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Xcel Energy is pivoting from its plan to build a new 800-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the site of its Sherco coal-fired facility in Becker, Minnesota. Instead, Xcel plans to build two smaller gas-fired “peaker” plants, one in Minnesota and one in North Dakota, as part of a new initiative for the utility’s power generation in the Midwest.
Xcel also proposed two repowered gas-fired plants—one in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and another in Wisconsin—that also would run only during periods of high demand for electricity. The utility, based in Minneapolis and with operations in eight states, outlined its proposal in a plan submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on June 25.
Xcel’s still plans to close its Minnesota coal-fired power plants, include Sherco’s three units that have more than 2,200 MW of generation capacity, by 2030. Sherco—short for Sherburne County Generating Station—began operating in the 1970s.…