Two Minnesota utilities take state further down renewables path, seeking lower emissions

摘要

Minnesota, with about 17,000 MW of net summer power capacity, is home to two utility subsidiaries that have been pursuing an energy transition that will ultimately alter the shape of the state’s power generation profile. According to the US Energy Information Administration, roughly 31% of Minnesota’s electricity generation in 2019 came from coal-fired power plants, down from 53% in 2011. Meanwhile, 19% of the power generated in the state, or roughly 11 million MWh, came from wind generation. According to the American Wind Energy Association, Minnesota has 3,843 MW of installed wind capacity as of the end of the first quarter. Minnesota Power, a utility subsidiary of Duluth, Minnesota-based Allette Energy, has said it is seeking more sources of renewable energy and has moved from an energy supply that was about 5% renewables in 2005 to one that is about 30% renewables in 2019. “We expect to be 50% renewable by 2021,” the company has said. Xcel Energy’s utility subsidiary, Northern States Power-Minnesota, owns two of the main coal-fired facilities located in Minnesota. It owns the largest such facility, the three-unit, 2,238 MW Sherburne County coal-fired facility that could be retired in stages starting in 2023 through 2030, according to an industry analyst. In recent years, Xcel has installed six wind farms in Minnesota, with combined capacity of 1,100 MW. According to AWEA, the state had 3,843 MW of wind installed at the end of Q1.