Xcel Energy 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

Xcel Energy
2008 Annual Report page 7
storage capability. Having the ability to store the
solar power will enable us to use the energy when
we need it most.
On another renewable energy front, we are
planning to install innovative biomass gasification
technology on an existing coal-fired unit at our
Bay Front plant in Wisconsin. The project would
make Bay Front the largest biomass plant in the
Midwest and one of the largest in the nation.
Pending regulatory approval, engineering and
design work would begin in 2010 and the project
would be complete in late 2012.
Environmental leadership is an important
consideration as we invest in our nuclear plants,
which are safe and reliable, with no greenhouse
gas emissions. We’ve filed applications to
renew the operating licenses of two units at our
Prairie Island facility, and to make modifications
to increase the generating capacity of both our
Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear plants. In
addition, we are seeking to add more storage
for spent nuclear fuel at Prairie Island.
Of course, one of the most effective ways to
protect the environment is to work with customers
to save energy and manage its use, which we’ve
done for more than two decades. In a time of
rising energy prices, conservation is the best
way for customers to manage their energy costs.
Although our conservation effort is significant
and long-standing, we are increasing it to meet
growing standards in our service territory.
Taking advantage
of new technology
As our renewable energy portfolio grows and
environmental regulations increase, we are
exploring new technologies to enable us to fully
realize our environmental goals. In Minnesota,
we are testing the ability of large batteries to store
wind power, which is a promising effort. As with
solar power, one of the challenges of wind power
is its intermittency. If we could store the electricity
and use it when we need it most, we could
address that challenge. We also are working to
discover better ways of predicting the amount
of electricity a wind farm can generate at any
one time.
On the solar energy front, we’ve collaborated
with partners to form the Solar Technology
Acceleration Center, a world-class facility focused
on commercializing new solar energy technologies.
In Colorado, we are testing a variety of smart grid
technologies in Boulder, which we’ve designated
as our SmartGridCity™. The technologies allow
two-way communication with customers and
give those customers many options for managing
their energy use. They can decide, for example,
when to operate their appliances based on cost
or environmental considerations. They can go
online to determine how much energy they’re
using at a particular time of day. A smart grid
benefits Xcel Energy as well, allowing us to better
manage our own system. For example, we can
use networking technology to monitor and react
to what’s happening at any given moment, which
improves efficiency and prevents outages.