News Releases

Xcel Energy seeks ‘low-cost renewable energy’ suppliers

AMARILLO, TEXAS - Xcel Energy is requesting proposals for a minimum of 80 megawatts of cost-effective renewable electric energy for Southwestern Public Service Company, to be on line by July 2006.

To be considered, proposed renewable energy projects must be located in the SPS service territory, a 52,000-square-mile region comprised of the High Plains of Texas, eastern and southeastern New Mexico, the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwestern Kansas.  A proposal may consist of one or more projects.

The request for proposals, issued yesterday, says Xcel Energy wants to contract for 20 years of renewable energy, “at a price that is lower than SPS’s avoided energy cost.”  Avoided energy cost is the company’s actual cost of producing electricity. 

The RFP describes renewable energy technologies as those recognized by Texas law-technologies that produce electricity from solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave, tidal energy, biomass or biomass-based waste products including landfill gas resources. 

It also includes New Mexico’s description of renewables: “low- or zero-emission technologies,” including hydropower, geothermal, fuel cells that are not fossil-fueled, and biomass technologies-including those using landfill gas and anaerobically digested waste biomass, agricultural or animal waste, small-diameter timber, and salt cedar and other phreatophyte or woody vegetation removed from river basins or watersheds in New Mexico.

Proposals are due Oct. 14.  There will be a public pre-bid conference at 1:00 p.m. CST Aug. 5 in the Ninth Floor Conference Room at the Bank One Bldg., 6th and Tyler, Amarillo. Xcel Energy contact is Stephen Jones, at (612) 330-5644; address: 414 Nicollet Mall (Ren Sq 5), Minneapolis, Minn. 55401.  The RFP will be posted soon at www.xcelenergy.com. (Note: the RFP is now available by using the Alliances tab above, then Electric Generation Owner > 2003 SPS Renewable Energy RFP. -Webmaster)