Xcel, environmentalists square off over planned gas-fired power plant
Company cites need for grid reliability; opponents push for end to fossil fuel.
March 6, 2021 — 8:00am
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The rise of natural gas-fired power was long welcomed — or at least accepted — by both utilities and clean-energy groups. Gas vanquished coal, cutting both carbon dioxide emissions and wholesale electricity costs.
But to renewable-energy advocates, gas' days are numbered — at least as far as building big power plants such as the one Xcel Energy is planning in Becker, Minn.
They say an emission-free combination of new wind and solar — coupled with a fleet of grid batteries for power storage — is cheaper and just as reliable as a new gas plant.