Denver Metro Emissions Reduction Project (MERP)  

At Xcel Energy, we’re continually improving the way we do our job. We’ve enhanced plant operations over the years, taking advantage of technology to improve our generating plants’ operating efficiency and reduce air emissions.

In 2003, we were one of the first utilities in the country to implement a voluntary emission reduction program (view chart). The initiative cost $211 million and has reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by 70 percent and nitrogen oxide by 40 percent from our Denver metro area power plants. We installed emission controls at three power plants, including Cherokee and Arapahoe stations in Denver and Valmont Station in Boulder, Colorado. This included installing lime spray dryers (also called "scrubbers") on three of the largest generating units, dry sodium injection systems on two smaller units and shutting down two of the smallest units.

The effort was so successful that we proposed and are now implementing a metro emission reduction program in Minnesota.