Updates on Xcel’s Wind Capacity

Aug 21, 2013

Xcel is already supplied with electricity from 17 wind farms with 2,177 megawatts of generating capacity but is seeking the approval of state regulators throughout its service territory to buy at least 1,500 megawatts worth of new wind-based power. What do the numbers translate to? Wind Turbines use installed capacity to describe how much electricity may be generated by a turbine in optimal wind conditions – describing how many watts of electricity the turbine hardware can possibly produce. For example, if a system with an installed capacity of 24 megawatts has optimal wind for one hour, it will produce 24 megawatt hours of electricity. If all of the proposals are approved, Xcel could see the amount of wind capacity on its system jump by 30 percent.

 

Among the projects Xcel has proposed to state regulators is a wind farm in Colorado (Xcel’s biggest electricity supplier) capable of supplying about 200 megawatts worth of power. This would increase Xcel’s total wind power in the state (right now at around 2,200 megawatts) to nearly 2,400 megawatts.According to Xcel, the addition of the new, 200-megawatt wind farm is expected to save Colorado customers more than $142 million in fuel costs over the next 20 years, since one megawatt worth of wind power can meet the demands of 250 homes.

Remember, Daniel Beckerle is an Eco-Broker if you have any questions about building “green” or adding any “green” features to your home. You can read more about Dan here: https://www.alarisproperties.com/about-colorado-real-estate-alaris-properties

 

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