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Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) +2.4% in Wednesday’s trading after submitting its Clean Energy Plan and latest electricity resource plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, outlining 22 renewable energy projects it wants to pursue that will cost an estimated $15B, Denver Business Journal reported.
The company said $10B in federal tax benefits, many of them part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will hold down the cost of building the projects.
Xcel’s (XEL) preferred projects would add 6,545 MW of renewable energy – including 1,170 MW of battery storage to use when wind or solar are not meeting needs – plus 628 MW of natural gas plant capacity; the projects would be built during 2026-29.
The utility’s preferred portfolio includes less than half the new natural gas plant capacity than it outlined in a 2021 settlement agreement approved by the PUC but adds 31% more wind power, 19% more solar power and 6x more battery storage capacity.
Xcel (XEL) forecasts a 2.3% annual increase to customer bills to pay for its Clean Energy Plan projects, adding ~$10 per month to bills by 2030.