Dive Brief:
- Minnesota regulators have approved three generation projects totaling more than 600 MW for Xcel Energy's Northern States Power Co, including a solar project that beat the cost of natural gas plants, the Star Tribune reports.
- The utility will sign agreements with Geronimo Energy for the company's 100 MW Aurora Solar project, utilizing power generated from 20 sites adjoining substations along Xcel’s transmission or distribution lines. The solar project competed successfully with three natural gas proposals, with an administrative judge finding that solar was a better deal for the utility.
- Regulators also authorized two gas projects, a 215 MW proposal by Xcel and a 345 MW addition Caline Corp. proposed at its Mankato Energy Center.
Dive Insight:
Regulators gave a nod to more than 600 MW of generation for Xcel, though Platts reports there are questions as to how much is actually necessary. Northern States Power recently revised downward its projected needs. "We need to err on the high side, but we're already erring on the high side for Calpine and Geronimo," Commissioner Dan Lipschultz said in expressing doubt that the final project was necessary.
Xcel has proposed three 215 MW combustion turbine gas generators, with one (Black Dog Unit 6) to be be installed at Xcel's existing Black Dog Generating Station in Burnsville, Minn. The other two would be built near Hankinson, N.D.
Geronimo's Aurora Solar Project is a 100 MW distributed generation project that will utilize solar arrays ranging in size from 2 MW to 10 MW across Xcel’s service territory. The project will interconnect to multiple Xcel Energy substations across Minnesota and will provide energy and capacity for the local distribution network. Arrays will be located throughout 16 counties in Minnesota.
