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Wind Power Xcel Energy is the nation's No. 1 wind power provider.
We are committed to reducing the impact of our business on the environment. It is a promise to voluntarily use the earth’s resources wisely, responsibly manage the technologies we use today, help develop and deploy cleaner energy technologies for tomorrow and promote and encourage conservation. One of the cornerstones of this commitment is serving our customers’ needs with renewable wind power. Throughout much of our service territory, we find some of the finest wind regimes in the country. As a result, at the end of 2008, we had almost 3000 megawatts of wind energy capacity in service system-wide. We expect to more than double our wind resources by 2020. We also are the leader in offering our customers choice in buying renewable energy. Through our Windsource® program, customers can specify that part or all of their electricity be generated by the wind. If you are an Xcel Energy electricity customer in Colorado, New Mexico or Minnesota, you can purchase Windsource® wind power for your home or business.
Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
We have a total of 1300 megawatts of wind energy capacity in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota as of year-end 2008. Most of this is located in southwestern Minnesota. In 2008, we added another 180 megawatts including our first owned wind project in Minnesota, the Grand Meadow Wind Farm. The North Dakota wind power is from a 12 megawatt project located near Minot. In 2007, we added approximately 50 megawatts of wind capacity in South Dakota in the MinnDakota project.
Colorado and Wyoming
We're proud to have built Colorado's first commercial wind farm, our 30-megawatt Ponnequin Wind Farm in northern Colorado. We have purchased the entire energy output of the state's second wind farm, Ridgecrest near Peetz as well as the 162 megawatt Colorado Green wind farm near Lamar and the 60 megawatt Spring Canyob wind farm near Peetz. In 2007, we added 775 megawatts of new wind capacity in four projects, Peetz Table, Logan Wind, Twin Buttes and Cedar Creek. By year-end 2007, we have a total of 1085 megawatts of wind capacity- 1060 from Colorado and 25 from Wyoming.
Current Wind Projects under development:
Minnesota: Read more information about Nobles Wind Project.
North Dakota: Read more information about Merricourt Wind Project.
Texas and New Mexico
We have a total of 576 megawatts of wind energy capacity in Texas and New Mexico as of year-end 2007. In 2007, we added 161 megawatts of wind capacity from the Wildorado Wind Ranch in Oldham and Potter counties for a total of 374 megawatts of wind energy capacity in Texas. We offer customers in New Mexico wind power through New Mexico's first voluntary wind energy program. At year-end 2007, we received 202 megawatts of wind energy capacity from Caprock Wind Ranch in Quay County, Llano Estacado and the San Juan Mesa facility near Elida, New Mexico.
What's New...
Wind Power Rankings
For the fourth consecutive year the American Wind Energy Association ranked Xcel Energy the nation's No. 1 wind power provider among investor-owned utilities. The ranking is included in the American Wind Energy Association Annual Wind Industry Report for 2008. Of the nation's more than 25,300 megawatts of wind energy, Xcel Energy owns or purchases 3,000 megawatts of capacity online. Colorado was ranked sixth with 1,068 megawatts. Minnesota ranks first in the country with more than 7 percent of the state's power coming from wind energy.
The full annual rankings report is available: American Wind Energy Association Annual Rankings Report (333 KB PDF)
Wind Forecasts
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has partnered with Xcel Energy to provide detailed wind forecasts to better integrate electricity generated from wind farms into the power grid. One of the major obstacles that has prevented more widespread use of wind energy is the difficulty in predicting when and how strongly the wind will blow. Through the use of better forecasting technology, wind-generated power will be more reliable and predictable. Accurate wind forecasting results in savings by getting more energy from existing wind farms and spending less money on back-up generators or on the spot market.
Additional Resources
For more information about Wind Energy, visit the following resources:
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