A key element of the plan is expanding operations at the company's two Minnesota nuclear plants, the Monticello and Prairie Island plants, which have a combined capacity of 1.7 GW.
The company's Upper Midwest region includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Michigan.
The use of renewables, BESS and nuclear power will also allow the company to contribute to Minnesota's plans to meet 100% of its energy demand with what the state government calls “clean electricity” by 2040.
While relying on nuclear alongside renewables, as opposed to investing exclusively in renewables, has led to some criticism — including Xcel being fined $14,000 last year by Minnesota regulators over radioactive leaks of tritium from the Monticello plant – company leadership optimistic about Xcel's direction amid Minnesota's energy transition.
Energy-Storage.news Readers may know Xcel Energy for its relatively bullish approach to sourcing new lithium-free long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies. It is developing two 100-hour 1GWh projects using Form Energy's iron-air battery in Minnesota and Colorado, as well as a 300 kWh pilot system using Ambri's liquid metal battery.
See the full version of this article at PV Tech.
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