AMARILLO, Texas (Sept. 9, 2020) – Xcel Energy is seeking information that will help guide the company toward its clean energy goals in Texas and New Mexico as planned retirements of large regional power plants create new opportunities for innovation and area development.
Today the company issued a formal Request for Information inviting interested parties to submit ideas for generating resources in Texas and New Mexico. Those resources could include new generating stations or the transformation of existing power plants – either owned by or under contract with Xcel Energy to supply electricity to its customers.
“We’ve made the most of our investments in power generating units, but several of our older plants are nearing retirement,” said David Hudson, president, Xcel Energy – New Mexico, Texas. “This gives us an opportunity to consider options to replace these valuable assets in ways that help us achieve our clean energy goals and maintain reliability and affordability.”
Xcel Energy is interested in gathering market information from those who might be interested in providing power generating capacity and energy to Xcel Energy for its Texas and New Mexico customers from all generating resource types, including energy storage.
In an electric rate settlement approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission earlier this year, Xcel Energy agreed to submit an analysis of the retirement of the Tolk Generating Station Units 1 and 2 in Lamb County, Texas, and solicit information on potentially replacing those generating resources. Xcel Energy plans to retire the Tolk units in 2032 because of the declining supplies of groundwater used in the plant’s cooling process.
The Request for Information process is different from an RFP, or Request for Proposals, in that Xcel Energy is not soliciting formal proposals or committing to any particular scenario. Solicitations will be accepted until 5 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 6. The RFI document and bid forms can be accessed at www.xcelenergy.com/working_with_us/tolk_request_for_information.
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About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
