Xcel Energy recently announced an ambitious plan to go completely carbon free.
As Xcel spokesman Wes Reeves tells HPPR, the energy giant has set a goal across its eight-state service area to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent over the next 12 years.
By 2050, XCel aspires to be 100 percent carbon-free. Reeves said that reducing carbon will be good for the High Plains because it will mean a much-needed economic boost for the region’s struggling rural areas, which remain rich in renewable resources like wind and sunshine.
The plan is also good news for the aquifer, as wind and photovoltaic solar farms don’t need water in order to generate electricity in the way that traditional coal and natural gas plants do.
Many of Xcel’s coal- and natural gas-fueled power plants are reaching the age of retirement, and Reeves says the company’s new strategic vision will help XCel ensure a reliable and economic power supply for Texas and New Mexico customers for years to come.