MINNEAPOLIS — Xcel Energy plans to retire its two remaining coal plants in the Upper Midwest by 2030, a decade earlier than scheduled.
The Minneapolis-based utility also announced plans Monday to expand wind and solar, use cleaner natural gas and operate its carbon-free nuclear plant in Monticello, Minnesota, until at least 2040.
Xcel reached an agreement with environmental and labor groups on key parts of the company's coal, solar and natural gas plans.
The utility plans to retire the Allen S. King coal power plant in Bayport, Minnesota, by 2028 and the Sherco 3 coal-fired generator in Becker, Minnesota, by 2030.
Xcel also plans to complete the company's largest-ever wind expansion in 2022, adding 1,850 megawatts of wind.
The company will submit the plan to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in July.
Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske, president of the Coalition of Utility Cities, issued a statement on Monday, saying, "The announcement of these plant closures will have massive impacts on the communities of Becker and Oak Park Heights. In Becker, the Sherco plant contributes 75% of our local tax base, hundreds of jobs, and is central to our community’s identity."
And Oak Park Heights Mayor Mary McComber said in a statement, "With the King Plant now scheduled to close, we are already hard at work to set a course for the next 50 years, but we need the state’s partnership to make that transition successfully."
City administrators aren't the only ones questioning the early closure plan. Isaac Orr, Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment who specializes in energy and environmental issues, says it will hit Minnesota consumers in their wallets.
"Xcel Energy consistently boasts that their customer's bills are 22% below the national average, but they don't tell you that's because Xcel customers use 41% less electricity than households nationwide according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The company's decision to close low-cost coal plants in favor of expensive and unreliable wind and solar will to put more upward pressure on electricity consumers."
