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Minnesota PUC Approves Operations Extension for Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant

LCG, August 15, 2025--Xcel Energy announced that the company received state approval yesterday from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to extend operations of the Prairie Island nuclear plant through the early 2050s. Prairie Island has two units that have a combined generating capacity of 1,100 MW. The units’ current operating licenses expire in 2033 and 2034.

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PGE Announces Addition of 475 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems to Improve Grid Reliability and Costs

LCG, August 7, 2025--Portland General Electric (PGE) today announced the completion of three, four-hour lithium-ion utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Oregon, adding 475 MW and more than 1.9 GWh of dispatchable capacity to serve the Portland metro area. Each of these BESS facilities can deliver power during peak demand or when other electric generating facilities are limited, which improves system flexibility, reliability and costs.

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Industry News

AWEA Reports Strong Finish for U.S. Wind Projects in 2015

LCG, January 28, 2016--The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) yesterday released its U.S. Wind Industry Fourth Quarter 2015 Market Report. AWEA reports that 8,598 MW of new electric generating capacity was installed last year, which results in a 77 percent increase over the 2014. The annual capacity installation record of 13,000 MW was set 2012. The installed capacity is now 74,472 MW.

According to AWEA, 5,001 MW of new wind farm capacity was installed in the fourth quarter alone. This is only the second time in history that over 5,000 MW of wind capacity has been installed in a single quarter. Moreover, as the new year begins, more than 9,400 MW of wind farm capacity is under construction, plus 4,900 MW in advanced stages of development. This ensures significant amounts of wind will continue to come online in the near term.

With the recent extension in December of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for five more years, the near-term policy should encourage continued development and construction of wind farms.

AWEA's report also highlighted the geographic expansion of wind farms, with New Mexico becoming the 17th state to exceed 1,000 MW of installed capacity and Connecticut becoming the 40th state with utility-scale wind energy. Texas retains its leadership position, with 17,700 MW of installed capacity, and Iowa moved into the number two position, with over 6,000 MW of installed capacity.

AWEA noted the growing trend of large energy consumers, like General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Google, directly purchasing wind power from new projects. In the fourth quarter of 2015, approximately 75 percent of the new MW contracted through power purchase agreements (PPA) came from such non-utility buyers.
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