XCEL RFP CALLS FOR 100 MW OF BIG SOLAR

Xcel sets stage for solar bidding war

David Shaffer, April 23, 2014 (Minneapolis StarTribune)

Xcel Energy’s request for proposals (RFP) for 100 megawatts of new solar will dramatically increase Minnesota’s installed solar capacity over from its present twelve megawatts at about 730 rooftop sites. The RFP, for commercial-industrial and utility scale installations of five megawatts and over, will move Xcel about one-third of the way toward compliance with the Minnesota's Solar Energy Standard mandating its utilities get 1.5 percent of their power from solar by 2020. The proposals must be submitted to Xcel and reviewed in time for regulatory approval of the twenty year power purchase agreements this fall so construction can be completed before the 30 percent federal investment tax credit drops to 10 percent after December 31, 2016. This new round of solar development will be an opportunity for Xcel to demonstrate if it will use Minnesota’s newly instituted Value of Solar Tariff or revert to the familiar net energy metering policy. click here for more

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