Xcel Energy just announced its big solar and wind plans in the US Midwest – here’s the lowdown.

Minnesota’s largest utility expects to cut more than 80% – and possibly up to 88% – of its emissions by 2030, putting it on track to hit Minnesota’s goal of net zero by 2040. It also says it’s on track to achieve its clean energy goals for all the Upper Midwest states it serves – Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.

The plan is to keep its Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear plants running until the early 2050s, and it’s going to bring a whopping 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of new wind and solar into the mix in the Midwest. Xcel Energy says it will add 600 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage by 2030. It didn’t say when or where the renewables would come online.

Xcel Energy also said it will add 2.2 GW of “always-available resources” by 2030 as backup power during peak demand. We don’t know what that vague phrase means, because Xcel Energy is deliberately being secret squirrel about it.

It only says that the resources “will only run when needed, meaning they’ll have very low emissions.” So, it could be more battery storage, or it could be grid upgrades – or it could be fossil fuels, and that would be disappointing indeed. However, the utility says it’s still on track to close all its coal plants by 2030.

Xcel Energy says it will keep costs low for its customers by tapping into $5.7 billion in estimated Inflation Reduction Act tax credit savings for its clean energy and battery storage additions.

Read more: This huge Minnesota solar farm is about to get super-sized

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