DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL - Colorado’s biggest utility company on Wednesday released details of its $2.5 billion proposal to become a cleaner power generator, retiring two coal-burning plants and by 2026 replace them with projects generating nearly 55 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
Xcel Energy (Nasdaq: XEL) submitted its plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission late Wednesday, laying out extensive options how it could source electricity to meet growing Denver metro-area demand in coming years.
The company has, since it unveiled the broad outlines of its Colorado Energy Plan last August, sought to retire its coal-fueled Comanche 1 and Comanche 2 power plants in Pueblo and replace them with natural gas-generated power and a combination of Xcel-owned and third-party wind and solar projects.
The company estimates doing so would reduce its carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2026 and cost $213 million less than continuing to run both the coal plants.
