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Released January 30, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Xcel Energy Incorporated (NASDAQ:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) reported solid profit growth for 2022 and is preparing for a substantial buildout in its transmission & distribution (T&D) business across Colorado and its power-generation business in Minnesota. Industrial Info is tracking about $9 billion in active projects from Xcel, with about $3.5 billion and $5.5 billion attributed to power-generation and T&D projects, respectively.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Xcel's power-generation projects, by fuel type.
More than half of the total investment value attributed to Xcel's T&D projects stem from the Power Pathway Project across Colorado, which involves 550 to 610 miles of new, double-circuit line, four new substations and four expanded substations that will provide "a transmission backbone to tap into renewable resources, increase system resilience and heighten power reliability," according to the company. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed project reports on the major segments:
One of the cities along the Power Pathway also has been earmarked by Xcel for a major transition: the coal-to-gas conversion of Unit 1 at the Pawnee Power Station in Brush, Colorado. Xcel already is at work on the closure of two coal-combustion residual (CCR) landfills at the site, currently expected to wrap in 2025, after which the company plans to convert the 500-megawatt (MW) coal unit to burn natural gas. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Unit 1 conversion and CCR landfill closure.
Minnesota accounts for more than $3 billion of the $3.5 billion in power-generation projects from Xcel, including the 460-MW Sherco Solar Plant in Becker, which recently received approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). If built, it could be followed by a solar expansion or a windfarm addition, neither of which would be likely to begin construction before the end of the decade. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the solar project, its proposed expansion, and the proposed windfarm.
Bob Frenzel, the chief executive officer of Xcel, said in a quarterly earnings-related conference call that these projects each made significant strides in the fourth quarter of 2022: "Commissions in Minnesota and Colorado approved resource plans that will add nearly 10,000 megawatts of utility-scale renewables to our systems through this decade. The Minnesota Commission approved our 460-megawatt Sherco Solar project, the Colorado Commission approved our $2 billion Power Pathway transmission project, and MISO awarded us $1.2 billion of transmission projects. We accelerated our timeline for transitioning out of coal and now expect to be coal-free by the end of 2030, all of which contribute to our leadership in clean energy transition for our customers."
Xcel expects to fully exit coal-fired generation in Colorado and Minnesota by 2030. Matthew Harris, Xcel lead assistant general counsel, told Minnesota's PUC last year that the Inflation Reduction Act likely would reduce the levelized cost for solar projects by 25% to 40%, and for wind projects by 50% to 60%. It also would reduce the cost to ratepayers for Sherco's initial phase by about 30%, offsetting recent increases in its expected capital costs.
Net earnings for Xcel's full year totaled $1.74 billion, compared with $1.6 billion in 2021.
Xcel expects to see capital expenditures for 2023 total about $5.4 billion, increasing to $6.2 billion in 2024. Altogether, the company expects $29.5 billion in capital spending from the current year through 2027.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active projects from Xcel.
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) platform 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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Xcel's power-generation projects, by fuel type.More than half of the total investment value attributed to Xcel's T&D projects stem from the Power Pathway Project across Colorado, which involves 550 to 610 miles of new, double-circuit line, four new substations and four expanded substations that will provide "a transmission backbone to tap into renewable resources, increase system resilience and heighten power reliability," according to the company. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed project reports on the major segments:
- Segment 1, a 75-mile line from Platteville to Brush; see project report
- Segment 2, a 160-mile line from Brush to Cheyenne Wells; see project report
- Segment 3, a 65-mile line from Cheyenne Wells to Lamar; see project report
- Segment 4, a 140-mile line from Lamar to Aurora; see project report
- Segment 5, a 120-mile line from Aurora to Foxfield; see project report
- a 90-mile extension from Lamar to Two Buttes; see project report
One of the cities along the Power Pathway also has been earmarked by Xcel for a major transition: the coal-to-gas conversion of Unit 1 at the Pawnee Power Station in Brush, Colorado. Xcel already is at work on the closure of two coal-combustion residual (CCR) landfills at the site, currently expected to wrap in 2025, after which the company plans to convert the 500-megawatt (MW) coal unit to burn natural gas. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Unit 1 conversion and CCR landfill closure.
Minnesota accounts for more than $3 billion of the $3.5 billion in power-generation projects from Xcel, including the 460-MW Sherco Solar Plant in Becker, which recently received approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). If built, it could be followed by a solar expansion or a windfarm addition, neither of which would be likely to begin construction before the end of the decade. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the solar project, its proposed expansion, and the proposed windfarm.
Bob Frenzel, the chief executive officer of Xcel, said in a quarterly earnings-related conference call that these projects each made significant strides in the fourth quarter of 2022: "Commissions in Minnesota and Colorado approved resource plans that will add nearly 10,000 megawatts of utility-scale renewables to our systems through this decade. The Minnesota Commission approved our 460-megawatt Sherco Solar project, the Colorado Commission approved our $2 billion Power Pathway transmission project, and MISO awarded us $1.2 billion of transmission projects. We accelerated our timeline for transitioning out of coal and now expect to be coal-free by the end of 2030, all of which contribute to our leadership in clean energy transition for our customers."
Xcel expects to fully exit coal-fired generation in Colorado and Minnesota by 2030. Matthew Harris, Xcel lead assistant general counsel, told Minnesota's PUC last year that the Inflation Reduction Act likely would reduce the levelized cost for solar projects by 25% to 40%, and for wind projects by 50% to 60%. It also would reduce the cost to ratepayers for Sherco's initial phase by about 30%, offsetting recent increases in its expected capital costs.
Net earnings for Xcel's full year totaled $1.74 billion, compared with $1.6 billion in 2021.
Xcel expects to see capital expenditures for 2023 total about $5.4 billion, increasing to $6.2 billion in 2024. Altogether, the company expects $29.5 billion in capital spending from the current year through 2027.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active projects from Xcel.
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) platform 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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
