Xcel Energy 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

The team includes (from left) Jessica Collins, Andy Sulkko,
Tim Kawakami, Steve Wilson, Christina Falce, John Ault
and Kathleen Little.
Xcel Energy also continues to add solar resources to its
energy mix. In southwest Colorado’s San Luis Valley,
the Greater Sandhill solar farm is one of four large-scale
facilities that supplies the company with solar power.
According to the Solar Electric Power Association, the
company in 2014 was among the top 10 U.S. utilities
with the most solar capacity.
Relying on renewable energy
Xcel Energy purchased power analysts visit Limon III,
a Colorado wind farm that supplies the company with
wind power. The purchased power team negotiates and
manages hundreds of contracts, enabling Xcel Energy to
remain the No. 1 provider of wind energy in the country,
a distinction the company has held for 10 consecutive
years. Most important, Xcel Energy is delivering wind
at a competitive price for customers.
Xcel Energy
Annual Report 2014 4
power. Xcel Energy is a leader in integrating wind
energy with its other resources, and I am most proud
of the fact that we deliver it at an affordable price,
which is fundamentally important to customers.
To meet the need for clean energy, we also are
on a path to reduce carbon emissions more than
30 percent compared with 2005 levels by 2020, a
milestone that makes us an industry leader in carbon
reduction. As the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) prepares to nalize new rules around
carbon, we are working with the Agency and our
states to maximize the value of our clean energy
leadership by advocating for recognition of the
early action we’ve taken to reduce air emissions.
On the natural gas side of our business, we replaced
the last remaining cast iron pipe on our system, a
major milestone in our effort to modernize for safety
and reliability. We also completed a 35-mile natural
gas transmission pipeline on time and on budget to
bring natural gas to our Cherokee Generating Station
as part of its conversion to natural gas. Although it’s
difcult to convey the complexity of these projects,
the team working on the Cherokee pipeline dealt
with an historic ood, negotiated a red-tailed hawk
nesting area and crossed three interstate highways,
nine canals and one river. We know how to get
these projects done and done right, even as new
requirements and challenging conditions increase
their complexity.
We also stand out in operating our electric
transmission system and managing a large upgrade
and construction effort. In 2014, we energized
14 new substations and placed more than 760 miles
of new transmission lines into service across our
operating companies. We rebuilt and upgraded
190 miles of existing transmission lines, totaling
about $1 billion in capital projects. Xcel Energy, in
fact, is one of the largest builders of 345-kilovolt