Democratic and Republican National Conventions
to Be Powered by Wind, Sun
Jun 9, 2008 - Business Wire
The 2008 Democratic and Republican national
conventions will be powered with clean, renewable wind
and solar energy, Xcel Energy announced today. This is
also the first time the same electric utility will serve
both conventions in separate cities in the same year.
Xcel Energy, the nation's No. 1 wind power
provider according to an American Wind Energy Association
ranking, will provide enough wind power through its Windsource
program to offset the estimated 3,000 megawatt-hours that
the conventions will use. With approximately 70,000 residential
and commercial customers in Colorado, Minnesota and New
Mexico, Windsource is the nation's largest voluntary wind
energy program, according to a National Renewable Energy
Laboratory ranking.
"We are pleased to provide clean, renewable
power to the conventions because we want to display for
the nation's elected leaders and delegates what a 21st
Century utility can look like," said Dick Kelly, chairman,
president and CEO of Xcel Energy. "In addition to renewable
energy, we offer customers incentives for energy conservation
and we're reducing emissions from our facilities. We're
moving forward to make a real difference."
The Windsource power for the national conventions
primarily will come from Xcel Energy's Ponnequin Wind
Facility near the Colorado-Wyoming border and from a wind
farm on southwestern Minnesota's Buffalo Ridge. Additional
power will come from a 10-kilowatt solar installation
at The Pepsi Center in Denver, and from a 10-kilowatt
solar installation at the High Bridge Generating Station
in St. Paul, Minn. The Denver solar installation is part
of Xcel Energy's Solar*Rewards program, which provides
incentives for customers to install solar panels on their
home or business.
"Energy policy is an issue that both political
parties should discuss at their conventions and beyond,"
Kelly said. "We are ahead of the curve in our policies
and actions because we are dedicated to reducing our impact
on the environment and providing the leadership to make
a difference in the communities we serve."
Renewable portfolio standards in Minnesota
and Colorado are some of the nation's most aggressive,
and Xcel Energy is on track to meet both. By 2020, Minnesota
requires 30 percent of the company's electricity supply
to come from renewable sources, up from 14 percent currently,
and Colorado's standard is 20 percent by 2020, up from
10 percent. Last fall, Xcel Energy filed aggressive resource
plans in Minnesota and Colorado, proposing to increase
its use of clean generating resources and decrease its
reliance on fossil fuels.
Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S.
electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations
in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides
a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and
services to 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8
million natural gas customers through its regulated operating
companies. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis.
SOURCE: Xcel Energy