Dive Summary:

• While some U.S. utilities are retiring nuclear plants left and right, Xcel Energy says it will invest $1.8 billion to extend the life of two 40-year-old Minnesota reactors.
• The Prairie Island nuclear plant in Red Wing, Minn., will get two new massive steam generators; and another reactor, in Monticello, Minn., will get upgrades intended to maintain safety and boost output by 13%. The Minneapolis-based Xcel says the investment will extend the reactors’ life by 20 years.
• Xcel's move stands out among other utilities increasingly retreating from nuclear generation. But Xcel says nuclear power remains vital to its generation portfolio also heavily investing in wind power. Half of its electricity produced is carbon-free. "There are very few utilities in the country that can make that sort of claim," said regional VP Laura McCarten.

From the article:
“Xcel engineers say good maintenance at Prairie Island has allowed the original Unit 2 steam generators to run longer than any others in the U.S. industry. They are confident the replacement units, which are similar to those installed in Unit 1 in 2004, won't suffer from the problems that shuttered the San Onofre reactors.”