Less Coal and More Solar Proposed in Xcel Agreement

A proposal that would lead to the closing of two Pueblo coal plants a decade earlier than planned is before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, after COSEIA joined with 13 other groups and Xcel Energy asking that the plan be considered. If approved, it could lead to $2.5 billion in clean energy investments in rural Colorado and up to 700 megawatts more solar energy.

COSEIA had extensive discussions with members about the proposal because the plan is to pay for the early coal plant retirements by temporarily reducing the Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment (RESA) on ratepayer bills. COSEIA gained assurances in the negotiations that rooftop solar and other distributed generation will continue to play an important role in Colorado’s energy future.

The COSEIA board voted to join in the agreement because of the potential to greatly increase solar deployment and rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions. The documents filed by Xcel can be found here. COSEIA’s testimony can be found here. After the plan was filed, Xcel issued a large RFP for resources. You can join a webinar to learn more about the opportunities on Sept. 28 by registering here.