North Dakota Ag Connection - Xcel Energy Launches Region's Largest Wind Investment

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Xcel Energy Launches Region's Largest Wind Investment
North Dakota Ag Connection - 03/20/2017

Xcel Energy announced plans to add 1,550 megawatts of new wind generation in the Upper Midwest, which would be the largest to date with a total of seven wind farms to be built in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.

The company is already the nation's top utility wind provider and says the project would increase its wind portfolio by 60 percent while providing enough energy to power more than 800,000 homes.

"This investment in renewable energy keeps bills low for customers while giving them the clean energy they want and helping us achieve 63 percent carbon-free energy by 2030," said Chris Clark, who is president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota. "Wind energy is at historically low prices right now so we're able to reduce emissions while securing long-term cost savings for our customers."

Xcel is proposing a combination of owned projects and power purchase agreements representing more than $2.5 billion in capital investments. The utility estimates that the proposed wind projects will save more than $4 billion in fuel and other costs, over the life of the projects. The company is also taking advantage of federal production tax credits to secure low wind energy prices.

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