UTIL EXEC WANTS NEW ENERGY

Rising from meter-reader to CEO, Xcel's Dick Kelly has sound perspective on environment
Don Shelby, August 16, 2011 (Minnesota Post)

"Dick Kelly will… retire as the CEO of Xcel Energy…[after] working in electricity generation most of his life…[and ending as] CEO of one of the most respected electric utility companies…Coal is the fuel from which most of America's electricity is generated. Kelly has been about the business of driving Xcel to switch coal plants to natural gas, and he's made Xcel the No. 1 provider of wind-produced electricity in the country…"

[Kelly:] "…We've got to get off fossil fuels…The quicker the better...We have a problem with CO2…The science is done. It is clear that CO2 is not good."

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"…Getting into wind in a big way was not a difficult decision for Kelly…[and if] he could stick around another 10 or 20 years, he'd likely put Xcel at the top in electricity production from the sun… Kelly has driven Xcel to exceed the state's mandate on renewable energy…"

[Kelly:] "…I think one of the misconceptions is that many people believe that wind is just outrageously expensive. Truth is, wind power competes very well with natural gas. The technology is getting better. We are getting a lot more kilowatts out of our windmills now. Even solar has come down 50 percent in the last two years…I'd be OK if there were never any more coal."