Xcel eyes solid renewables investments to fuel Minnesota's COVID-19 recovery

Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) has put forward a plan to develop close to USD 3 billion (EUR 2.67bn) worth of projects, mostly in the renewable energy field, to help its home state of Minnesota recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

The Minneapolis-based utility has lodged its proposal for approval to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, it said on Wednesday.

The plan envisages a sped-up construction of an up to 460-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) park in proximity to its Sherco coal plant in Becker city, Sherburne County, which will be capable of producing electricity to supply more than 240,000 homes per year. The project will use existing transmission infrastructure.

Additionally, Xcel Energy intends to repower ageing wind farms and install new wind power capacity across the state, involving union labour, veteran and minority-owned businesses in the process.

Energy conservation initiatives, in the form of rebate payments, energy efficiency, power transmission and distribution programmes are also among the utility’s proposals. The plan also calls for investments in the natural gas sector and in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

The proposals were launched in response to a request by Minnesota regulators as part of an economic recovery plan post the coronavirus pandemic. Xcel Energy estimates that an investment of this scale would create about 5,000 new jobs in the state.

The utility noted that it is reducing the electricity bills of its customers in Minnesota by a total of USD 25 million during the summer period due to lower-than-expected fuel costs, which also aligns with the efforts to restore economic activity after the COVID-19 fallout.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.889)

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