Xcel Energy on Wednesday proposed a four-year, $24 million program to expedite the development of clean-energy technologies in Colorado.
The ratepayer-funded program would spend $6 million annually starting in 2010 to test the commercial viability of new technologies such as concentrating solar power.
Xcel said typical residential customers would pay an additional 14 cents a month and small-business customers would pay 22 cents a month to finance the program, which requires regulatory approval.
“Our proposal gives us a chance to economically and efficiently accelerate the development of technologies that fit with the vision our customers have for future power needs in Colorado,” Xcel’s Colorado president, Tim Taylor, said in a written statement.
The first project proposed under the Innovative Clean Technologies program would test concentrating solar power technology at Xcel’s Cameo Generating Station near Grand Junction, a 73-megawatt coal- fired plant the utility plans to shut down. Unlike conventional solar power that converts sunlight directly to electricity, concentrating solar power uses large mirrors to focus sunlight on vessels containing water or other fluids. The heated fluids produce steam to spin turbine generators.
After a preliminary review of the proposal, Office of Consumer Counsel director Jim Greenwood said ratepayers should share in any profits that result from the technologies tested by receiving refunds, discounts or other financial incentives in the future.
“If consumers are paying R&D dollars for a project such as this, and it proves to be a successful technology that Xcel could sell and would ultimately benefit from . . . consumers maybe ought to share in that windfall,” Greenwood said.
Minneapolis-based Xcel has proposed the program only for Colorado, although it is considering similar initiatives for other states, said spokesman Mark Stutz. The utility serves eight states.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
