Xcel energy takes steps to shut down coal plants

State regulators have approved a plan by Xcel Energy Inc. to shut down two coal-fired power plants in Colorado, citing benefits to public health and concerns about carbon-dioxide emissions.

It's the first time in the nation a utility has volunteered, and regulators have approved, a plan to shut down power plants because of CO2 emissions, which are linked to global warming.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission spent Monday and Tuesday discussing a plan from Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) to meet its customers power demands for the next several years. A written order offering specific details of the decision is expected in a few weeks.

The closures are two to four years away, and Xcel has proposed using natural gas to make up for the lost power supplies.

In reaching the decision the commission was trying to move Xcel Energy toward carbon reduction goals that Gov. [Bill] Ritter has outlined in his climate action plan, PUC spokesman Terry Bote said Wednesday.

Also, they were adding renewable-energy resources in a cost-effective, technically feasible manner, ensuring an adequate supply of electricity in the future and being respectful of the cost that consumers have to bear, he said.

Xcel, based in Minneapolis, is Colorado's largest utility, serving about 70 percent of the population with natural gas and electricity.

When Xcel filed its plan in late 2007, the utility proposed shutting down the coal units at the Arapahoe power plant in Denver, near Santa Fe Drive and Evans Avenue, and the Cameo plant in Grand Junction.

We are pleased that the commission has agreed with our proposal to close two of our power plants, as we continually move toward reducing our carbon dioxide emissions in Colorado, said Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz.

Gov. Ritter last year called for a 20 percent reduction in carbon-dioxide emission by 2020. These closures will reduce our emissions by 1.4 million tons a year and put us well on the way toward meeting the governor's goal, Stutz said.

The plants together can generate a total of 229 megawatts of electricity. Xcel proposed replacing the coal-fired generators at Denver Arapahoe power plant with ones that use natural gas and can generate 480 megawatts of power, but a decision on that plan has been postponed.

With the commissioners approval, the Cameo plant near Grand Junction is scheduled to close by December 2010. The Arapahoe station in Denver is slated for closure by December 2012, Stutz said.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has set a clear path for Colorado's energy future, said Keith Hay, energy advocate for Environment Colorado, an advocacy group. Colorado will be a leader in clean, renewable energy, and we'll close down coal-fired power plants and replace that energy with renewable resources.

We need to look at renewable resources first, and we need to get off of expensive and environmentally costly fossil-fuel resources. Solar is a better investment today and will be a better investment for tomorrow to supply energy for Colorado, Hay said.
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Now this is the direction we need to go in!