Wind power company Excel Energy announced it is one of the first U.S. energy providers to reach 10,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity, a milestone powered by the company’s 10 new wind projects in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and the Upper Midwest.
The projects were completed in the past few years and the company has six more it expects to complete in 2021. They should be online by the end of the year completing the largest multi-state wind investment in the country.
As new projects continue to come online in 2021, the company estimates more than 31% of its nameplate energy capacity will come from wind by the end of the year. Additionally, Xcel Energy owns and operates much of the new wind, increasing its owned projects from 850 megawatts, to 4,469 megawatts by the end of the year.
“We launched an ambitious wind energy expansion in 2017 as part of our ongoing commitment to reduce carbon emissions while continuing to provide safe, reliable, and affordable service for our customers,” said Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO, Xcel Energy.
Xcel Energy is the first major U.S. power provider to announce a commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80% (from 2005 levels) by 2030, with a vision of delivering 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. The company is more than halfway to that interim goal.
The projects enabled the creation of thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent operations and maintenance jobs, while also supporting local governments and landowners who receive benefits through lease payments and taxes that help support local infrastructure.
Xcel Energy has built new wind farms, repowered other projects, and secured new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for projects throughout its service territories since 2016, totaling more than 4,000 megawatts (MW), including:
Colorado:
- Bronco Plains, 300 MW, completed in 2020 (PPA)
- Cheyenne Ridge, 500 MW, completed in 2020 (owned)
- Colorado Green, 200 MW, completed in 2020 (PPA)
- Mountain Breeze, 171 MW, completed in 2020 (PPA)
- Rush Creek, 600 MW, completed in 2018 (owned)
New Mexico/Texas:
- Bonita, 230 MW, completed in 2018 (PPA)
- Hale, 478 MW, completed in 2019 (owned)
- Sagamore Wind, 522 MW, completed in 2020 (owned)
Upper Midwest:
- Blazing Star 1, 200 MW, completed in 2019 (owned)
- Community Wind North, 26 MW, completed in 2020 (owned)
- Crowned Ridge 1, 200 MW, completed in 2020 (owned)
- Crowned Ridge 2, 200 MW, completed in 2020 (PPA)
- Foxtail Wind, 150 MW, completed in 2019 (owned)
- Glen Ullin Wind, 106 MW, completed in 2019 (PPA)
- Jeffers Wind, 44 MW, completed in 2020 (owned)
- Lake Benton 2, 100 MW, completed in 2019 (owned)
Several other Upper Midwest projects are under construction and will be complete in 2021, including:
- Blazing Star 2, 200 MW (owned)
- Dakota Range 1-2, 296 MW (owned)
- Dakota Range 3, 150 MW (PPA)
- Freeborn Wind, 200 MW (owned)
- Mower Wind, 99 MW (owned)
- Deuel Harvest Wind, 100 MW (PPA)
Source: BusinessWire