Xcel Energy – Colorado Plans To Deliver 80% Renewable Energy By 2030

[RV_]

Since energy has become an issue with so many Texans in the club from recent power events, this might show how folks serious about renewables plan to make it happen here in my state now.

Excerpt:

"Xcel Energy – Colorado today announced details of its upcoming Clean Energy Plan that will result in an estimated 85% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2030…

The plan will double renewable energy and battery storage on the Xcel Energy Colorado system, providing customers with electricity derived from approximately 80% renewable sources while maintaining affordable and reliable energy service, said Xcel in a press release.

In 2018, Xcel Energy announced its vision of a carbon-free electricity system by 2050. Today’s announcement continues not only the company’s vision to lead the clean energy transition, but also presents a balanced, diversified portfolio of energy sources to maintain reliability and affordability while supporting communities said the company. Highlights of the plan include:

• Adds approximately 5,500 MW of new wind, solar generation and battery storage;
• Significantly reduces coal plant operations by 2030 and retires or repowers all remaining coal units by 2040;
• Building upon successful customer focused energy-efficiency programs, distributed generation opportunities, and demand response options to manage energy load;
• Ensuring grid stability and reliability with flexible resources capable of operating around renewable resources as well as during times of extreme heat or cold;
• Creating a workforce and community transition plan, building upon the utility’s experience leading clean energy transitions across its service area; and
• Evaluating transmission infrastructure in the state to improve the reliability and flexibility of the system and reduce the cost of the renewable energy additions contemplated by this plan.

Xcel Energy – Colorado said its customers’ electricity bills are already among the lowest in the nation, and this balanced energy plan will continue to keep bills low. The plan is estimated to result in customer bill increases at or below the rate of inflation.

No layoffs are anticipated at any of the coal plants affected by the plan. Company and union leaders are partnering to manage this transition through attrition, retirement and retraining of employees.

The plan will go before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission late next month.

“We have a long track record of successfully transitioning our plants to meet future energy needs and look forward to doing so in Colorado, a state with leaders who share our clean energy goals,” said Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO, Xcel Energy. “We are committed to working with our employees and the communities we serve as we make significant strides leading the nation’s and Colorado’s ambitious clean energy transition, while also ensuring reliability and affordability for our customers.”

“Colorado is getting cleaner air, more good jobs, and savings for consumers with more renewable energy,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis. “This proposal puts reliability and consumer savings as top priorities. This plan doubles wind and solar, advances my administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction roadmap and our bold goal of achieving 100%"

Source:  https://awaken.com/2021/03/xcel-energy-colorado-plans-to-deliver-80-renewable-energy-by-2030/

[Randyretired]

Sounds like flowered press release to distract from the nearly $1,000,000,000 spent during the cold spell to provide power.  This extra sum along with rolling black outs.  We will have the extra added onto our bills for the next 2 years to pay back this sum in Colorado.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Randyretired

[dogyard]

Having a close familial connection to Xcel corporate planning I can assure you that they have a very strong commitment to this.  Utilities are struggling to understand how to compete and stay relevant as technology improves at breakneck pace. If you could go behind closed doors you'd hear executives wondering if they are destined to become a "back up" power source. The Doug's (dumb old utility guys) who grew up in the industry are surprised that new customers may not be compelled to buy their products and they may have to actually change in order to successfully market their goods. We installed a solar system at our home, backwired and metered into Xcel's grid and we continue to receive $15-$30/mo from them even though we purchase electricity from them overnight and in inclement weather. Even those who continued there faith and investment in buggy whips and equine supplies were bypassed by the automobile. We're approaching that same tipping point here. 

[RV_]

Randy,

I believe this is more than that.

Utilities Are Installing Big Batteries at a Record Pace

Blackouts due to wildfires and wild weather are prompting action

The energy storage industry is shattering records for battery deployments, underscoring its growing role in decarbonizing the economy.

In the last three months of 2020, nearly 2.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy storage systems were put into operation, according to the energy data firm Wood Mackenzie. That’s an increase of 182% from the previous record-setting quarter.

The blockbuster fourth quarter capped a year that saw a total of 3.5 GWh installed—more than the 3.1 GWh that went into operation in the previous six years combined. That torrid growth has industry boosters and researchers feeling very bullish about the prospects for energy storage.

“This is the hallmark of a market beginning to accelerate exponentially, and momentum will only increase over the coming years,” Dan Finn-Foley, Wood Mackenzie’s head of energy storage, said in a press release.

Energy storage systems are often used to capture power when the supply of wind or solar energy exceeds demand. Electric utilities, businesses or homeowners can then draw on those systems to produce emission-free electricity when intermittent renewable energy is unavailable.

A study released last month by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine examined how the U.S. can bring its carbon emissions down to net zero by midcentury, which scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Energy storage was a key part of that road map (Climatewire, Feb. 3).

The Wood Mackenzie report, produced in conjunction with the U.S. Energy Storage Association trade group, found that most of the growth last year was due to large-scale installations from utility companies.

California, which suffered a series of climate-related blackouts last year, was the top market for energy storage systems in 2020. The Golden State led in all three market segments that the report detailed: “residential”; “non-residential,” meaning mostly businesses; and “front-of-the-meter,” which mainly refers to utilities.

Even before a February freeze knocked power plants and wind turbines offline in Texas, plunging millions of people into darkness, the state was already ramping up its energy storage capacity. Last year, it was the second-largest market for new utility-scale storage systems, the report found.

Source: Scientific American

[RV_]

Making Starbase, Texas, Sustainable & Resilient, Part 2: Identifying Risks & Organizing The City

In Part 1, I covered some of the advantages Starbase will have along with the things that need to be baked into the city’s operations and culture from the beginning. In this article, I’m going to get more specific on some of the risks the city will face and some ways they can organize it for long term success.

The Risks Starbase Will Need to Mitigate

The good news is that Cameron County, Texas has already studied much of this. Like nearly all counties in the U.S., the county has a small emergency management staff who look for ways to better prepare the county for emergencies, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management works with all of the counties as well as federal emergency management (FEMA and DHS). This makes the job at the city level a lot easier, but as I’ll get into later in the article, the city does still need at least one person working on making this happen.

The county identified the following natural risks as important to the area:

• Extreme heat
• Hail
• Hurricane Wind
• Lightning
• Thunderstorm Wind
• Tornado
• Winter Storm
• Drought
• Flood
• Coastal Erosion
• Wildfire
• Dam Failure

While none of these should be downplayed in favor of others, the future land for Starbase, Texas does differ from the whole county in that it’s right on the coast and lies in the middle of wetlands.

Image by Cameron County, Texas.

This means that Starbase will have to pay special attention to flood hazards as things get built in the area. Not only are they more vulnerable to hurricane storm surges than the rest of the county, but they’re also near the Rio Grande river that can rise when there are inland storms or dam failures. When it comes to flooding, Starbase will face risks from many vectors, all while these threats will likely increase from climate change."

The article goes on to cover:

Organizing The City

Ownership

First, there’s the question of whether Starbase will be a “company town”. While that may seem like a blast from the past, company-owned cities are still a thing. Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida are 100% owned by Disney, for example.

Government Structure

Building & Zoning

If everything in the city will be built by SpaceX, then this may be unnecessary. If private citizens and other companies are going to set up shop inside the city, ordinances will be needed to make sure that the city remains resilient to disaster and climate change, and to promote sustainability.

Whether To Hire Jenn

I’d love to work for Starbase and serve as the emergency management coordinator.

Moving Toward Mars

As I pointed out in Part 1, the city gives people involved with SpaceX the opportunity to learn how to run a local government. Without a state or federal government to call for help on Mars, getting this right while there’s still a chance to err without dying is essential."

There's a lot more in the full article here https://cleantechnica.com/2021/03/10/making-starbase-texas-sustainable-resilient-part-2-identifying-risks-organizing-the-city/

[RV_]

Nuclear Power Looks to Regain Its Footing 10 Years after Fukushima

Economics may play a stronger role than fear in steering nuclear power toward a slow decline

"Nuclear power faces a wobbly future 10 years after an earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple reactor meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. But the industry’s unstable footing has less to do with the Fukushima accident—and more to do with how a natural gas glut and the rise of renewable power have transformed the global energy landscape.

Fukushima has certainly left its mark on the nuclear industry. When the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami occurred on March 11, 2011, there were 54 nuclear reactors in Japan. Since then about a third of them have been permanently shut down, and only nine have resumed operation. “In Japan, [the accident is] still an outsize event,” says Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It not only had direct and indirect environmental consequences that they’re still dealing with—and a price tag of hundreds of billions of dollars to clean it up—but also it shattered the confidence of the Japanese people in nuclear power, which the authorities had always assured them was totally safe.”

Additionally, the accident spurred regulatory reviews of nuclear power worldwide and accelerated a preexisting plan in Germany to completely phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022. Other countries, including Spain, Belgium and Switzerland, are in the process of doing so within the next 14 years.

By comparison, no U.S. nuclear reactors shut down for precautionary reasons in the wake of Fukushima. Four months after the disaster, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) task force issued a report recommending updates to the regulatory standards for protecting U.S. nuclear plants against earthquakes and floods. But NRC commissioners voted against adopting a draft rule requiring extra measures to be taken against such hazards in a split decision in 2019.

Instead of fear, activism or political oversight, what has profoundly weakened the outlook for nuclear power is a shift in the economics of electricity generation that favors cheaper natural gas and renewables, such as wind and solar energy. But nuclear power advocates—and some environmentalists—still see nuclear power as a cornerstone of clean-energy policies meant to address climate change. And they tout a new generation of nuclear reactors designed to be safer and perhaps more cost-competitive.

“We certainly can and should be investing in absolutely everything until we get to net-zero [carbon emissions],” says Josh Freed, senior vice president of the climate and energy program at Third Way, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C."

More here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nuclear-power-looks-to-regain-its-footing-10-years-after-fukushima/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=today-in-science&utm_content=link&utm_term=2021-03-10_top-stories&spMailingID=69795012&spUserID=NTAzMDg3NDk0MDIzS0&spJobID=2081191271&spReportId=MjA4MTE5MTI3MQS2

[bruce t]

RV you certainly have an obsession with this subject. I give you credit for that. But the above doesn't tell the full story does it? And you know it. Tell the readers what is replacing Japan's nuclear stations. No? Ok I will. Coal. Yup coal. Japan is renewing it's coal base. They use Australian coal. They are now buying Australian coal in record quantities. Hundreds of new coal power stations are being built in Asia. Inclouding China and Japan.

Keep cherry picking the information. But remember other folks are not dumb enough to fall for political ideology dressed up as power policy.

Now back to the river bank to check my fishing pole.

 

 

[Al F]

17 hours ago, bruce t said:

RV you certainly have an obsession with this subject. I give you credit for that. But the above doesn't tell the full story does it? And you know it. Tell the readers what is replacing Japan's nuclear stations. No? Ok I will. Coal. Yup coal. Japan is renewing it's coal base. They use Australian coal. They are now buying Australian coal in record quantities. Hundreds of new coal power stations are being built in Asia. Inclouding China and Japan.

Keep cherry picking the information. But remember other folks are not dumb enough to fall for political ideology dressed up as power policy.

Now back to the river bank to check my fishing pole.

 

 

Any links to provide so we can read and learn about what you have to say?

[bruce t]

How about using Google to look at both sides of the story? Easy to find the ones that suit your agreement. If you only Googled Japan's new coal power stations I wouldn't have to do it for you.

None so blind as those who can't see!

 

[Al F]

9 hours ago, bruce t said:

How about using Google to look at both sides of the story? Easy to find the ones that suit your agreement. If you only Googled Japan's new coal power stations I wouldn't have to do it for you.

None so blind as those who can't see!

 

That seems to be just what RV is doing.  However you are just throwing out one line simplistic statements.  Basically just trolling.

How about you giving a link, copying the relevant points and providing your insights.   That takes "work" and provides credibility to your side of the discussion. 

[bruce t]

Any person can find suitable web sites to support their case. It's not hard. RV is doing it all the time. But I'm not going to play the game. Intelligent people can find the information on the web. Yeah and we know everything we read on the web is true dont we? Remember I'm living in the experiment. You folks are only just beginning. 

[hemsteadc]

I'm staying away from ^ this guy.

[RV_]

1 hour ago, hemsteadc said:

I'm staying away from ^ this guy.

I answered this claim of his in the other thread. I showed a graph from 2003-2013 Produced by the Australian ministry long before there were any impacts from renewables. The prices made their big initial jumps 2003-2913. It is here: https://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/141410-tesla-quietly-adding-massive-100-megawatt-battery-to-texas-power-grid/?do=findComment&comment=1046722

[Al F]

2 hours ago, bruce t said:

Any person can find suitable web sites to support their case. It's not hard. RV is doing it all the time. But I'm not going to play the game. Intelligent people can find the information on the web. Yeah and we know everything we read on the web is true dont we? Remember I'm living in the experiment. You folks are only just beginning. 

Cute!  😁

[bruce t]

Yes RV pick the sites that suit your argument. The Victoria government closed their biggest coal  fired power plant. Said it would cost no more than 30 cents per customer. Power prices doubled. Now find a site that contradicts that fact. RV some may be too polite to call you an internet know all. I'm not that polite. You claim to be an expert on the subject. But you are only a leftie pushing your leftie ideology. I'll repeat. we are living the experiment. Self interest web sites are all driven by their own agenda. I suggest you look at bigger picture than your tunnel vision of the world.

[Al F]

11 hours ago, bruce t said:

Yes RV pick the sites that suit your argument. The Victoria government closed their biggest coal  fired power plant. Said it would cost no more than 30 cents per customer. Power prices doubled. Now find a site that contradicts that fact. RV some may be too polite to call you an internet know all. I'm not that polite. You claim to be an expert on the subject. But you are only a leftie pushing your leftie ideology. I'll repeat. we are living the experiment. Self interest web sites are all driven by their own agenda. I suggest you look at bigger picture than your tunnel vision of the world.

Speaking of know-it-all's, tunnel vision and "expert".  All with no links to support a point of view. 

[DJohns]

In central Nebraska my coal fired power plant electricity is .12 per KWH. In western Nebraska where wind and hydro prevail the cost is .24 per KWH.  Fact! 

[Al F]

5 hours ago, DJohns said:

In central Nebraska my coal fired power plant electricity is .12 per KWH. In western Nebraska where wind and hydro prevail the cost is .24 per KWH.  Fact! 

I guess the quotes below, taken from the internet are just more fake news.  About 1.4 cents higher in western NE than in eastern NE.   Also in North Platte electric is a little cheaper than Omaha.  

 

 

Quote

 

The average residential electricity rate in Omaha is 10.12¢/kWh. This average (residential) electricity rate in Omaha is 0.8% greater than the Nebraska average rate of 10.04¢/kWh. The average (residential) electricity rate in Omaha is 14.81% less than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh.

 

Omaha, NE Electricity Rates | Electricity Local

 

 

Quote

The average residential electricity rate in North Platte is 9.97¢/kWh. This average (residential) electricity rate in North Platte is 0.7% less than the Nebraska average rate of 10.04¢/kWh. The average (residential) electricity rate in North Platte is 16.08% less than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh.

 

North Platte, NE Electricity Rates | Electricity Local

Quote

The average residential electricity rate in Scottsbluff is 11.51¢/kWh. This average (residential) electricity rate in Scottsbluff is 14.64% greater than the Nebraska average rate of 10.04¢/kWh. The average (residential) electricity rate in Scottsbluff is 3.11% less than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh.

 

Scottsbluff, NE Electricity Rates | Electricity Local

 

[DJohns]

Sir,

I don't want to argue  BUT last month midwest electric lemoyne,NE I paid 41.52 plus tax for 155 KWH. Now this includes their monthly service but they can keep the rate lower by charging a service fee like most do. In Hastings,Ne I paid .12 per KWH and no service fee on coal fire electricity.  So when reporting the KWH price you really need to ask if there is a monthly service fee.

Again, just from my bill not off the internet.

 

 

[Al F]

1 hour ago, DJohns said:

Sir,

I don't want to argue  BUT last month midwest electric lemoyne,NE I paid 41.52 plus tax for 155 KWH. Now this includes their monthly service but they can keep the rate lower by charging a service fee like most do. In Hastings,Ne I paid .12 per KWH and no service fee on coal fire electricity.  So when reporting the KWH price you really need to ask if there is a monthly service fee.

Again, just from my bill not off the internet.

 

 

A service fee on top of the price of electric sure seems different than a comment about the cost of electric from coal in the eastern part of the state and whatever the sources of electric are in the western part of the state.  

 

[Randyretired]

Some providers include service fees that are usage based.  Such as kilowatt hours times a service fee factor is added to the bill.  How this differs from straight usage fees is puzzling. 

[DJohns]

1 hour ago, Al F said:

A service fee on top of the price of electric sure seems different than a comment about the cost of electric from coal in the eastern part of the state and whatever the sources of electric are in the western part of the state.  

 

I am done

[RV_]

Well thanks gas producers, for putting our non profit Colorado Spring gas bills in debt such that my bill will almost double in summer now and for 18 months we have to pay ~ 23.00 more per month. Here's the local news about it:

Excerpt:

"Natural gas price hike approved for 14 months in Colorado Springs after February weather

Posted: Mar 9, 2021

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs City Council unanimously voted to temporarily increase natural gas prices for Colorado Springs Utility customers after unexpected demand in February. It will go into effect Thursday, March 11th through April 2022.

Sample customer monthly bill impacts are as follows: 

• Residential: $21.99 (9.5% of sample four-service bill) 
• Commercial: 31.3% of sample four-service bill ($454.46) 
• Industrial:  11% of sample four-service bill ($4,544.60)  

****Sample bill amounts are based on the following monthly use: 60 CCF (one hundred cubic feet) for residential; 1,240 CCF for commercial and 12,400 CCF for industrial customers. Natural gas use is typically higher in the winter and lowers in the summer. Customers’ bills are impacted based on how much natural gas is used in their home or business each month. 

When fuel costs change – up or down – Springs Utilities passes those costs directly on to customers, it does not profit from customer rates. Springs Utilities most recently passed on decreases to customers on Feb. 1.  On Feb. 14, Springs Utilities set an all-time peak for winter use and extreme demand for electricity and natural gas caused fuel prices to surge across the country.   The increase in people’s bills will depend on how much gas they use, the size of their home, and the time of year.

“It could be anywhere from $4 to $3 to $5 range not $21 range (in the summer),” CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities Aram Benyamin said. “This is an average. If you spread it out over the 14 months is a $21 average so some months you’ll be paying more and some month’s you’ll be paying way less.”

“There are people hurting and yes $10 is going to make a big difference,” City Council Member Yolanda Avila, District 4 said.

In conditions like the utility recently experienced, it follows Utilities Board-approved policy guidelines to recommend cost adjustments. This is necessary to carefully balance the financial stability of the community-owned utility while supporting its customers.  The CEO is also having to juggle improvement projects to modernize the system.

“We have seen the fuel prices go down to the pre-storm levels and maybe lower so we’ve seen the market stabilize as the supply and demand balances out and hopefully we will see some more of the reduction in the fuel cost,” Benyamin explained.

To continue to provide reliable service during the abnormal deep freeze, Springs Utilities utilized its propane air plant to stretch natural gas supplies, used gas from storage, and generated electricity using natural gas, wind, solar, hydro, and coal. Customers also helped by taking steps to conserve energy.  For more information on the cost adjustments please visit csu.org.  

“This was a good balance between the discussions of where the utility needs to be and prepare for the next event that we would have and how we can recover sooner than later,” Benyamin added.

4.1 million without power across Texas as snow, ice blanket southern Plains Colorado Springs City Council unanimously votes to increase natural gas prices for 14 months, effective March 11th, 2021.

The Colorado Springs Utilities proposed three options to the council — Alternative 1, 2, & 3. The council ultimately voted for Alternative 2 – which would spread increased costs over 14 months, or until April of 2022.

Alternative 1
• Filing per Excellence in Governance Policy Manual, Electric and Gas Cost Adjustments (G-6) Guidelines
• Multiplier applied

Alternative 2
• Targets $0 collection balance at 4/30/22
• 14-Month Recovery
• No multipliers applied

Alternative 3
• Targets $0 collection balance at 1/31/23
• GCA 23-Month Recovery
• No multipliers applied

---

---

CSU said there were approximately $105.3 million additional fuel costs on top of Gas Cost Adjustment projections for February, prompting the company to look to gas price increase for locals.

Currently, a variety of assistance programs is in place to help customers pay utility bills. Springs Utilities announced last week it would suspend service disconnects until further notice.

“We understand the past year has been difficult and want to help customers through this time. We’ve suspended disconnects until further notice and will continue to offer payment plans and assistance programs, such as the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), Project COPE, and Energy Outreach Colorado,” Benyamin said. 

Attorney General Phil Weiser said Coloradans should be protected from unfair price hikes on utility bills and has written a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate whether the recent spike in gas price is the result of any fraud or market manipulation.

Source: https://www.fox21news.com/news/local/cos-city-council-to-vote-on-natural-gas-price-increase-tuesday/

Read AG Weiser’s FULL LETTER to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Edited March 18, 2021 by RV_

[Chalkie]

Take out "4.1 million without power across Texas as snow, ice blanket southern Plains" and then article is correct. That is a link to another article and an attempt IMO by the news to make an inference that wasn't there. Gas prices rose nationwide as a result of that storm. Yes, Texas got hit hard but the abnormally low temps caused outages across a wide part of the USA. 

 

[Kirk W]

54 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

Take out "4.1 million without power across Texas as snow, ice blanket southern Plains" and then article is correct. That is a link to another article and an attempt IMO by the news to make an inference that wasn't there. Gas prices rose nationwide as a result of that storm. Yes, Texas got hit hard but the abnormally low temps caused outages across a wide part of the USA. 

                   👌               😊