Xcel Energy (XEL) received approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Wednesday that could triple the company’s wind power capacity in Colorado by 2007. The CPUC approved Xcel Energy’s proposal to acquire up to 500 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy resources, primarily wind, through an early competitive bidding process. This will allow the company to take advantage of any short-term renewal of the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy, currently under consideration by Congress. The company also will study the impact that additional renewable resources will have on system reliability, operation, cost and transmission. [ more ]
