Dive Brief:
- Colorado regulators have rejected Xcel Energy's Solar*Connect proposal, which would have allowed the utility to purchase 50 MW of solar power and make it available to customers seeking cleaner power, the Denver Business Journal reports.
- The 3-0 vote on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) came amid concerns the program would unfairly compete with rooftop solar installers. Xcel had planned to allow customers to pay a premium on their bills to purchase blocks of solar power equal to a percentage of their monthly power demand.
- Although Xcel has run a similar program for wind energy since 1998, regulators were not convinced customers wanted a solar version.
Dive Insight:
The ruling, following several days of debate, is a win for solar installers who believed the program would have cut into demand for rooftop panels.
Xcel issued a statement saying the company is disappointed by the ruling. "We thought that Solar Connect could bring a solar product to consumers in Colorado that do not currently have the option to install solar panels," the company said in a statement.
Xcel has signaled a growing interest in solar power of late and has floated the three new projects with 187 MW of nameplate capacity.
In October the company filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for approval of 25 year power purchase agreements at undisclosed prices with NextEra Energy Resources for a 62 MW solar photovoltaic project, and with Juwi Solar for a 25 MW PV project.
