PLATTEVILLE, Colo.—Cow manure and other agricultural waste will be used to produce methane gas for use at Xcel Energy’s St. Vrain natural gas-fired electrical generating plant.
Xcel announced Tuesday that it signed a 10-year agreement with Microgy Inc. for gas from a methane-recovery plant that will be built in Weld County next year. Gas from the plant will be enough to generate 125,000 megawatt-hours of energy a year, enough to power about 17,000 homes.
Methane produced by Microgy will be mixed with natural gas used to fuel Xcel’s power plant. The agreement will help Xcel meet a mandate produce 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.
Minneapolis-based Xcel is Colorado’s largest electric utility.
Microgy is a subsidiary of Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Environmental Power Corp.
