Xcel Energy agrees to coal plant retirements, historic clean energy commitment in agreement with clean energy groups and labor

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Today, Sierra Club, Fresh Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Energy and Environment, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Clean Grid Alliance, LIUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) Minnesota and North Dakota, and Xcel Energy filed an agreement with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MNPUC) that proposes retirement dates for Xcel’s remaining coal units and includes historic investments in solar energy and energy efficiency. The agreement, which will be incorporated into Xcel Energy’s proposed long-term energy plan (also known as an Integrated Resource Plan or IRP), now goes before the MNPUC for review and includes the following commitments from Xcel Energy:

• The retirement of the King coal plant no later than 2028,
• The retirement of the Sherco 3 coal plant no later than 2030,
• The addition of at least 3,000 MW of solar capacity to Xcel’s system by 2030, enough to power over 750,000 homes,
• The support and creation of local, high quality jobs in these solar projects,
• A commitment to historic levels of energy efficiency,
• The reduction of coal use at the Sherco 2 coal unit the plant until it retires in 2023, and
• A commitment to reevaluate the continued economic viability of the Mankato Energy Center gas plant in future IRPs.

The agreement was entered into as part of Xcel’s application to purchase the Mankato Energy Center gas-fired power plant, and is subject to MNPUC approval. Sierra Club agreed to withdraw its official comments filed in opposition to Xcel’s purchase of the plant. Xcel is already locked into the purchase of 100% of the electricity from the Mankato plant through long-term contracts.

According to data from the Clean Air Task Force, pollution from the King and Sherco coal plants currently costs Minnesota almost fifty million dollars annually in medical care, and results in dozens of deaths every year. While the agreement announced today will lead to a significant reduction in climate-altering greenhouse gasses, as well as other air and water pollutants, the Sierra Club is also calling on Xcel Energy to include in its proposed resource plan—to be filed with the MNPUC by July 1 and previewed to stakeholders today, May 20th—details on how the utility will put Minnesota on a path to 100% renewable energy with no proposals to construct new fracked gas plants and with concrete plans to support all Minnesotans in the transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.

Jessica Tritsch, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, issued the following statement:

“Minnesotans have been calling for a transition from coal to clean energy for more than a decade, and we just took one huge step closer to a coal-free Minnesota. Thousands of us, in voices too strong to be ignored, are demanding 100% clean, renewable energy in Minnesota, and this agreement helps to move us on this path by adding historic levels of solar energy and energy efficiency that protects our state’s natural beauty, provides reliable power, costs less for customers, and supports well-paying jobs.”

Rose Thelen, a Minnesotan who lives less than six miles from the Sherco coal plant, issued the following statement:

"Early retirement of the coal burning units at Sherco, and investments in clean energy, means that my community can breathe easier, sooner. The years we have been working to get Xcel to make commitments to phase out coal were years we could have been breathing clean air, but today we celebrate that our future doesn't have to be tainted by pollution. Making the move to clean energy doesn't mean that my community gets left behind, it means we get to move forward. Ensuring workforce development and local clean energy jobs is a crucial next step to keeping our corner of central Minnesota an important part of powering our state."