760 megawatt natural gas plant helps deliver stability and savings to
Minnesota customers
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) announced today it has agreed to purchase the
Mankato Energy Center, a 760-megawatt natural gas power plant from
Southern Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company. The
plant currently provides power to Xcel Energy customers under a power
purchase contract.
“Securing the Mankato gas plant is a great value for our customers as it
will provide significant cost savings and operating flexibility for the
long term,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy—Minnesota, South
Dakota, North Dakota. “As we continue to transition to cleaner energy
sources and reduce reliance on coal, this plant will help us continue to
deliver reliable electricity while keeping bills low.”
Xcel Energy is planning for several power plant retirements and contract
expirations in the mid-2020s. Acquiring this plant now provides
certainty that energy from these newer generating units will be
available and benefit customers over the life of the plant compared to
simply purchasing the output. These benefits include more flexibility as
we continue to add renewable energy and analyze the future of our
always-on power plants, as well as reducing the risk from expiring power
purchase agreements in the next decade.
Investing in regional energy benefits customers and communities
Xcel
Energy currently has nearly 100 employees in the Mankato area with
several facilities, including a power plant and a service center. The
company is also building a new transmission line in the area to deliver
low-cost energy to customers throughout the region.
“Xcel Energy has a long history of serving customers in the Mankato
area. Securing this plant gives us the opportunity to deepen our ties to
the community,” said Clark.
Xcel Energy has purchased power from the plant’s first unit since 2006
and has an agreement for the energy from the under-construction second
unit beginning in 2019. Xcel Energy agreed to purchase the plant for
$650 million. Current employees will be offered jobs with Xcel Energy.
About Mankato Energy Center
The Mankato Energy Center is a
natural gas combined-cycle plant. The second unit, now under
construction, will bring total capacity to 760 megawatts of electricity.
About 27 employees currently operate and maintain the plant. The
facility was originally built by Calpine Corporation and sold to
Southern Power in 2016.
Xcel Energy’s purchase is dependent on regulatory approval, expected in
mid-2019.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the
energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western
and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an
industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing
and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable
sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com
or follow us on Twitter
and Facebook.
Certain information in this press release is forward-looking information
that involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking
information includes, among other information, the expected impact of
NSP-Minnesota’s asset acquisition and other statements identified by
words “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“project,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar
expressions. Actual results may vary materially. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we expressly
disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking information.
Although Xcel Energy believes that its expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors
that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different
from those projected. Factors, in addition to those discussed in Xcel
Energy’s and NSP-Minnesota’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2017, and subsequent securities filings, that could cause
actual results to differ materially.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181106006028/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2018
