Environmental groups and Attorney General Keith Ellison oppose Xcel Energy’s plan for gas-fired power plants in Minnesota

As Xcel moves toward a carbon-free power grid, one of its biggest challenges is replacing the power it will lose when its two major coal-fired power plants retire by 2030. Contracts with several gas-fired power plants that supply much of Xcel’s electricity are also expiring soon.

The company says that by 2030, it will need power generators that can deliver more than 2,200 megawatts of power at any time of day, something wind and solar cannot provide. That’s enough energy to power about two million homes.

Xcel says it has not committed to a specific technology for power generation. That can be decided later, and Xcel does not expect to use gas for all of those purposes as batteries improve or other options become available.

Shea said Xcel could also extend expiring contracts to buy electricity from gas-fired power plants that the company does not own.

At the same time, the model recommends six or more new gas-fired power plants for what they “always on” power. Initially, Xcel had asked regulators to approve two new gas-fired power plants, one in Cass County, North Dakota, and another in Lyon County, Minnesota. They would sit idle most of the time but run when demand peaks, typically on the hottest and coldest days of the year.