Renewable energy projected to grow

The U.S. Energy Information Administration released a report last month highlighting its projections that the U.S. electricity generation mix made up of renewables will have doubled by 2050. That's also when 42% of the nation's electricity will be provided by renewables.

"Wind and solar generation are responsible for most of that growth. The renewable share is projected to increase as nuclear and coal-fired generation decrease and the natural gas-fired generation share remains relatively constant," the report read. It also showed renewables will surpass natural gas as the predominant source of generation in the U.S. by 2030.

This is not an unreasonable estimation, according to Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves.

"I think 40% is doable for the whole country, because there are many companies like Xcel Energy that are looking at 100% carbon-free electricity production. There might be some that would say 40% is an underestimation," Reeves said. "Especially in this part of the world, because we have more access to resources. New Mexico is especially primed for it, because you have wind, but you also have a great solar resource."

Reeves said Xcel Energy's plan is to have its energy production mix 80% carbon-free by 2030 and 100% carbon-free by 2050, and he said there are other energy industry companies with carbon-free goals.

He said some states have also set carbon reduction goals, including New Mexico with its 2019 Energy Transition Act of 2019, which sets a goal for the state to be 100% carbon-free by 2050. He said wind energy averaged 26% of Xcel's energy mix in 2019, and he anticipates that it is now around 30%.

"It fluctuates on a daily basis. We've had days where wind energy makes up three quarters of our energy mix," he said.

With the company's Sagamore Wind Project just coming online at the end of December, Reeves said there are not any new renewable energy projects to announce, but there are definitely plans to continue adding renewables to the mix.

He said Xcel has a clear path to reach an 80% carbon-free energy mix but getting to 100% will be more challenging.

"These technologies are there, but they are not yet perfected, or they are not economical to install on a power system right now," Reeves said. "(But) we are always looking at new, emerging technologies to generate electricity. We know we're going to have to add more renewables to our mix to reach the 80%. We're making really good progress."

And adding renewable energy to the mix benefits costs to Xcel Energy, therefore improves costs for customers, Reeves said.

"We have other factors that are causing rates to go up, primarily infrastructure growth. A lot of our growth has come out of New Mexico. In our Southwest corner, we've built a lot of new transmission lines and substations," Reeves said. In the past 10 years, Xcel has put in more than $3 billion worth of new infrastructure across Texas and New Mexico due to energy demand growth and aging power systems.

But renewable energy projects tend to pay for themselves, because there are no fuel costs involved with them, Reeves said, which means adding renewables prevents rates being increased even more from infrastructure projects.

"Our goal has been to attack overall fuel costs to keep rate increases at a minimal, because we know we have to put money into infrastructure, but we know we can supplement that a little by lowering fuel costs," he said.

Overall, renewable energy isn't going anywhere but up.

"We know that's a trend that won't be reversed, but how fast it goes is anyone's best guess," Reeves said.