Xcel Energy is issuing one in every of northwest Wisconsin’s largest-ever requires clear energy initiatives. The purpose is so as to add vital carbon-free energy for the corporate’s Upper Midwest clients whereas changing a coal-fired plant on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.
Developers are invited to submit proposals for about 650 MW of recent solar-specific initiatives or ones that mix solar with energy storage, akin to batteries.
The request requires initiatives positioned in Wisconsin with business operation dates from 2027 to 2029, serving to to interchange the capability of the Allen S. King plant, a coal-fired plant in Oak Park Heights, Minn. that’s scheduled to retire in 2028. Xcel Energy plans to reuse present grid connections on the King plant web site, permitting clients all through the Upper Midwest to profit from the brand new energy sources.
The 650 MW of recent technology is sufficient electrical energy to power roughly 135,000 properties annually on common. Solar energy doesn’t have any gasoline prices and contributes to a diversified energy combine, which helps defend in opposition to rising gasoline costs.
Under the corporate’s Upper Midwest Energy Plan, greater than 80% of shoppers’ electrical energy within the area could be carbon-free by the top of the last decade, with greater than half coming from wind and solar. These initiatives will assist transfer these plans ahead. The plan requires retiring all the corporate’s coal vegetation by 2030, dramatically rising wind and solar energy, and making certain dependable, inexpensive energy.
Xcel Energy is dedicated to a clean transition for its staff on the King plant, who’ve performed a significant position in powering the area for many years. The firm has transitioned different coal vegetation with out layoffs and expects to perform this once more on the King facility. Xcel Energy is working with the state of Minnesota and native communities to discover potential future makes use of of the King plant web site after its retirement in 2028.
Xcel Energy’s request welcomes a spread of undertaking varieties, growth levels and sizes. More details about the request for proposals, together with an in depth schedule and responses to all submitted questions will likely be periodically posted on the Xcel Energy web site.
