President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Kamala Harris

(R) Donald Trump

80%↑

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) V. Archuleta

98%

2%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Marshall Dawson

95%

5%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd

(D) Adam Frisch

52%↑

48%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(D) Trisha Calvarese

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank

(D) River Gassen

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) John Fabbricatore

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen

(R) Sergei Matveyuk

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

50%

50%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
February 21, 2014 11:02 AM UTC

Doing Solar Wrong

  • 2 Comments
  • by: catpuzzle

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Xcel, our utility here in Colorado, has been busy recently fighting against rooftop solar, all-the-while arguing that they’re totally for solar but the incentives aren’t needed anymore / are too expensive.

They’re also running a bunch of TV and radio ads that talk about how they “do solar right”, bragging about the amount of solar energy they do, etc.

Here’s the thing: Xcel is a big, big utility that operates across a number of states, including Minnesota. And based on this story I read from Minnesota about their approach to solar there, I think it’s hard to take Xcel at their word that they’re really pro-solar.

Minnesota is looking to build a big power plant to serve Xcel’s customers. Xcel wanted to build a gas plant. Another company proposed to do a bunch of solar. The judge on the case decided they should go with the solar because, notably, it was a better deal than natural gas:

Minnesota soon could see at least a sevenfold expansion of solar power.

In an unprecedented ruling, a judge reviewing whether Xcel Energy should invest in new natural gas generators vs. large solar power arrays concluded Tuesday that solar is a better deal.

If the finding by Administrative Law Judge Eric Lipman is upheld by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Edina-based Geronimo Energy plans to build about 20 large solar power arrays on sites across Xcel’s service area at a cost of $250 million.

In a 50-page ruling, Lipman said “the greatest value to Minnesota and Xcel’s ratepayers is drawn from selecting Geronimo’s solar energy proposal …”

 

So basically, not only is the project producing clean energy as opposed to the gas Xcel wanted to use, but it’s a better deal for ratepayers. And what’s Xcel do? Why, attack the solar plan of course:

Minnesota, power companies attack solar energy plan

State energy officials and power companies tried Tuesday to derail a proposed $250 million solar energy project designed to meet future electricity needs of Xcel Energy Inc. customers in Minnesota.

In regulatory filings, the Minnesota Commerce Department, Xcel and two other companies that want to build natural gas power plants urged state regulators to reject Edina-based Geronimo Energy’s plans to build approximately 20 large solar power arrays across Minnesota.

The story this tells is pretty clear: Xcel wants to own it themselves, and if they don’t (like rooftop solar), they’re not for it and are going to try to kill it. They’d rather build some more gas plants. Frustratingly, they’re not reallllllly for solar, or for “doing solar right” like the ad claims (even with it’s cheaper). And that’s why they’ve been trying to kill off rooftop solar here in Colorado.

Comments

2 thoughts on “Doing Solar Wrong

  1. "If I'd asked them what they wanted, they would have told me faster horses."

    ~Henry Ford

    The utility industry is steeped in decades-old regulatory protections that guarantees  them risk-free, Wall Street, double-digit returns while saddling its customers with all of the risk associated to escalating fuel costs.  Distributed energy and today's emerging technologies will be the death knell to those who refuse to adapt to a new world. "Doing It Right" is code for "we want (and expect our regulators to assure) that nothing changes."

     

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

51 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!