http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/environment-and-safety/colorados-largest-utility-looks-shut-coal-plants-early-reinvest-wind-solar-200542/
[links in on-line article]
Colorado’s largest utility looks to shut coal units early, reinvest in
wind, solar
The shift would be yet another blow to the coal industry as the cost of
renewable power and natural gas continue to decline
August 31, 2017
by Cleantech Canada Staff
DENVER—In a fresh blow to coal, Colorado’s largest utility is looking to
put the high-emissions fossil fuel on the back-burner.
Earlier this week, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. kick-started the
process to push 660 megawatts of its Colorado coal-fired generating
capacity into early retirement while launching a procurement battle for
as much as 1,700 MWs of wind and solar power.
Xcel currently operates 10 coal generating units at five plants across
Colorado. Under the plan, which Xcel presented to the Colorado Public
Utilities Commission Aug. 29, the company would shut two of those units
at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, Colo. by 2025. The move
would eliminate more than one-fifth of its current coal power capacity.
“The proposal could increase renewable energy to 55 per cent by 2026,
save customers money, and dramatically reduce carbon and other
emissions,” David Eves, president of Xcel Colorado, said in a statement.
The move is similar to those being made in other U.S. jurisdictions,
despite the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump to revitalize the
coal industry.
In Canada, the federal government and individual provinces have already
committed to phasing out coal entirely. Ottawa, for instance, announced
plans to eliminate coal from the electricity supply by 2030 last year.
Ontario completed its coal phase-out in 2014, but several provinces,
including Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick remain reliant on
the fossil fuel. Alberta, meanwhile, put a plan in place last year to
shut down its remaining coal generating stations by 2030 and replace the
lost capacity with renewables.
In Colorado, Xcel plan to procure and estimated 1,000 MW of wind power,
700 MW of solar and up to 700 MW of natural gas power capacity over the
next decade The utility says the shift won’t result in additional costs
for its customers.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Colorado relied
on coal for 60 per cent of its electricity in 2015. Natural gas also
supplied 22 per cent, while renewables contirbuted 18 per cent of its
grid’s energy.
