Colorado’s solar and wind companies said Xcel Energy’s decision to reduce new power generation to come online by 2015 is a setback.
As it is, a deepening credit crunch and a paucity of transmission lines are hampering new solar and wind projects, they said.
But some, such as wind developer NextEra Energy, said they would continue building new projects.
“The expectation is that the economy will turn around at some point,” NextEra spokesman Steve Stengel said.
A FPL Group company, Next Era operates a 400-megawatt wind farm in Logan County and is constructing another 152-megawatt project nearby.
Xcel last week cut down by 18 percent its need for new generation by 2015 from a forecast made on Dec. 1, 2008, blaming slumping demand.
Today, the utility is seeking 1,800 megawatts of generation from solar, wind and natural- gas power developers. One megawatt of capacity in a power plant could serve 700 customers.
“It is disappointing, and I am sure it will be harder to develop new projects,” said Hank Price, Abengoa Solar’s vice president of technology development. “But I guess it can’t be helped if (Xcel’s) forecast for power is decreasing.”
Abengoa Solar, with an office in Lakewood, plans to submit a bid to Xcel to build a concentrating solar power project. The Spanish company is developing the world’s biggest such project near Phoenix for Arizona Public Service Co.
Along with slumping demand, Xcel also is selling less power for the first time in years.
And it expects sales to continue slumping in the next few years as the economic recession drastically cuts down power consumption.
Sales in 2008 fell to 34,752 giga watt hours, down 788 gigawatt hours from 2007, Xcel told the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Friday.
The downward trend is expected to continue, with sales falling roughly 3,000 gigawatt hours in 2012 compared with 2007. One gigawatt hour serves about 700,000 homes for one hour.
Lower sales could not only affect Xcel’s revenue in the coming years but also spoil its appetite for new wind, solar or natural-gas power plants.
“It does put additional pressure on the company,” said Paul Johnson, Xcel’s managing director of investor relations, “but it is something we think we can manage through.”
Gargi Chakrabarty: 303-954-2976 or gchakrabarty@denverpost.com
