Xcel gets PUC nod for 600-MW wind project in Colorado

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Friday cleared a settlement agreement that allows utility Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL) to build the 600-MW Rush Creek wind farm along with a 345-kV transmission line.

The PUC has approved the settlement, agreed by Xcel and more than a dozen other parties, without requiring modifications. The commission has also given the go-ahead to the Pawnee-Daniels Park Transmission Project, thus enabling an earlier construction schedule.

The deal caps the cost of the wind project at about USD 1.1 billion (EUR 985m). The scheme envisages erecting 300 turbines at two generation sites in Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties. Building works are expected to start next year, with commercial opration seen in late 2018.

Representatives of Xcel and Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) unveiled plans for the project at a conference in early April. A day later the Danish wind turbine maker said it had signed a conditional deal to supply wind turbines for a 600-MW project in the US, without giving more details.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.895)

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