A little over a week ago, Xcel Energy publicized details of a three-year program to conserve energy. Under the so-called Conservation Improvement Plan, the Minneapolis-based utility aims to save over 1,100 gigawatt hours of energy between 2010 and 2012. As reported by Reuters,
The company said in a release the plan would save money for customers and conserve enough energy to eliminate the need for a medium-sized power plant that would emit 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Xcel said its proposal complies with the state’s Next Generation Energy Act of 2007, designed to bolster investments in renewable power, increase energy conservation and decrease Minnesota’s contribution to global warming.
Of particular interest for Minnesota Xcel customers looking to get solar is the prospect of solar rebates. The proposed SolarRewards program would provide rebates to customers who install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems up to 40 kilowatts (kW) in size. While Xcel did not announce the exact rebate amounts, the company’s SolarRewards program in Colorado currently allocates rebates as follows:
- Small systems (0.5 kW – 10 kW) receive a solar rebate of $2.00/watt, plus a renewable energy certificate (REC) payment of up to $1.50/watt
- Medium systems (10 kW – 100 kW) get a solar panel rebate of $2.00/watt plus an REC payment of $0.115 for each kWh of electricity generated, typically over a contract term of 20 years
- Large systems (100 kW – 2 megawatts) are eligible for a production-based incentive, pending acceptance via a request for proposal process
A big purchasers of renewable electricity generation, Xcel Energy has regulated electricity operations in eight western and mid-western states: Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas.
UPDATE:
Also of interest to MN residents is a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts showing strong growth in green jobs in Minnesota:
In Minnesota, the study found that clean-energy jobs grew 11.9 percent between 1998 and 2007, six times faster than the state’s overall job growth of 1.9 percent.
The report said green-energy job growth certainly slowed with the overall economy in 2008, for which employment statistics aren’t yet available, but probably kept its lead over other sectors.
