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Released July 22, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Xcel Energy Incorporated (Minneapolis, Minnesota) intends to develop additional power sources in a region where the company predicts rapidly escalating power demand: Texas and New Mexico. The company late last week announced its intention to construct more than 5,100 megawatts (MW) of new power generation in the two states.
Xcel's targeting of the two states comes as the company forecasts that power demand in the region will grow by more than 40% by 2030 due to population growth, industrial expansion and increased electrification. In addition, the Southwest Power Pool, the grid operator for much of the region on Xcel's radar, has implemented new planning reserve margin requirements for individual power suppliers, lifting them from 12% to 15% within the past year.
The more than 5 gigawatts of additional generation will come through 521 MW of extensions at existing generation assets and 17 new power projects, Xcel said. The company is aiming for 3,200 MW of dispatchable generation (suggesting natural gas-fired assets) and energy storage, and 1,968 MW of wind and solar facilities. Xcel said many of the projects will be added to existing sites to ease permitting and interconnection work.
While Xcel didn't outline any specific projects covered in its announcement, the company did say that two solar projects are destined for New Mexico that will help the state meet its goal of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. One of these projects could be a solar installation at the site of the Cunningham natural gas-fired plant in Hobbs, New Mexico. There, Xcel is in the process of constructing a 72-MW solar array accompanied by a 36-MW battery energy storage system (BESS), which is expected to be completed early next year. The addition of 196 MW of further solar generation could be added to the site after the first phase of construction is complete. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Xcel has at least one potential gas-fired project planned for Texas, near Seminole in Gaines County, which is covered within the Southwest Power Pool grid. There, Xcel has plans to build an 1,100-MW natural gas-fired peaking station using five 220-MW simple-cycle units. Construction potentially could begin next year, putting the facility on track to be completed by the end of 2027. While there is no indication that project is part of the company's plans for 3,200 MW of dispatchable generation for the two states, this project alone would provide more than one-third of Xcel's proposed buildout of dispatchable generation in the region. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Xcel's focus on Texas and New Mexico doesn't seem to be hindering the company from planning other projects elsewhere. Industrial Info is tracking more than $18.7 billion worth of potential Xcel projects throughout the U.S., although the Seminole peaking station represents the highest-value project the company has planned. Two projects underway at existing facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota provide examples of how Xcel may deploy dispatchable and renewable power in the two southwestern states.
In its home state of Minnesota, Xcel is underway with the repowering of the Pleasant Valley Windfarm near Hayfield, where it is replacing older turbines with 100 new Vestas turbines, each with a capacity of 2.2 MW, which will result in 220 MW of total generation, lifting the facility's generating capacity by 20 MW.
A fossil-fueled repower is occurring at Xcel subsidiary Northern States Power Company's (Minneapolis) Wheaton Generation Station near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where the company will retire five existing units and, using the existing interconnections, construct five 9-MW reciprocal internal combustion engine (RICE) generators capable of firing natural gas or fuel oil and a 210-MW combustion turbine. Xcel estimates the plant will be able to handle a full power load within 10-12 minutes, compared with the existing diesel- and natural gas-fired generators, which Xcel Project Manager Nick Gamble said "may have a failure to start one out of every five tries or one out of every four tries." Additionally, the project will lower the plant's emissions by 90%, according to local news media. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Minnesota and Wisconsin repower projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Xcel's targeting of the two states comes as the company forecasts that power demand in the region will grow by more than 40% by 2030 due to population growth, industrial expansion and increased electrification. In addition, the Southwest Power Pool, the grid operator for much of the region on Xcel's radar, has implemented new planning reserve margin requirements for individual power suppliers, lifting them from 12% to 15% within the past year.
The more than 5 gigawatts of additional generation will come through 521 MW of extensions at existing generation assets and 17 new power projects, Xcel said. The company is aiming for 3,200 MW of dispatchable generation (suggesting natural gas-fired assets) and energy storage, and 1,968 MW of wind and solar facilities. Xcel said many of the projects will be added to existing sites to ease permitting and interconnection work.
While Xcel didn't outline any specific projects covered in its announcement, the company did say that two solar projects are destined for New Mexico that will help the state meet its goal of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. One of these projects could be a solar installation at the site of the Cunningham natural gas-fired plant in Hobbs, New Mexico. There, Xcel is in the process of constructing a 72-MW solar array accompanied by a 36-MW battery energy storage system (BESS), which is expected to be completed early next year. The addition of 196 MW of further solar generation could be added to the site after the first phase of construction is complete. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Xcel has at least one potential gas-fired project planned for Texas, near Seminole in Gaines County, which is covered within the Southwest Power Pool grid. There, Xcel has plans to build an 1,100-MW natural gas-fired peaking station using five 220-MW simple-cycle units. Construction potentially could begin next year, putting the facility on track to be completed by the end of 2027. While there is no indication that project is part of the company's plans for 3,200 MW of dispatchable generation for the two states, this project alone would provide more than one-third of Xcel's proposed buildout of dispatchable generation in the region. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Xcel's focus on Texas and New Mexico doesn't seem to be hindering the company from planning other projects elsewhere. Industrial Info is tracking more than $18.7 billion worth of potential Xcel projects throughout the U.S., although the Seminole peaking station represents the highest-value project the company has planned. Two projects underway at existing facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota provide examples of how Xcel may deploy dispatchable and renewable power in the two southwestern states.
In its home state of Minnesota, Xcel is underway with the repowering of the Pleasant Valley Windfarm near Hayfield, where it is replacing older turbines with 100 new Vestas turbines, each with a capacity of 2.2 MW, which will result in 220 MW of total generation, lifting the facility's generating capacity by 20 MW.
A fossil-fueled repower is occurring at Xcel subsidiary Northern States Power Company's (Minneapolis) Wheaton Generation Station near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where the company will retire five existing units and, using the existing interconnections, construct five 9-MW reciprocal internal combustion engine (RICE) generators capable of firing natural gas or fuel oil and a 210-MW combustion turbine. Xcel estimates the plant will be able to handle a full power load within 10-12 minutes, compared with the existing diesel- and natural gas-fired generators, which Xcel Project Manager Nick Gamble said "may have a failure to start one out of every five tries or one out of every four tries." Additionally, the project will lower the plant's emissions by 90%, according to local news media. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Minnesota and Wisconsin repower projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
