MnSEIA, SEIA, And CCSA Criticize Minnesota’s Approval Of Xcel’s 200 MW Battery Program, Warning Of Risks To Ratepayers

MnSEIA, SEIA, And CCSA Criticize Minnesota’s Approval Of Xcel’s 200 MW Battery Program, Warning Of Risks To Ratepayers

MnSEIA, SEIA, and CCSA criticized the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's approval of Xcel Energy's Capacity*Connect program, claiming it hinders fair clean-energy progress. They argue it offers no competitive data access, shifts financial risk onto ratepayers, and excludes independent developers, thus raising costs and limiting clean-energy options for Minnesotans. The post MnSEIA, SEIA, And CCSA Criticize Minnesota’s Approval Of Xcel’s 200…

Renewables groups believe Minnesota VPP program 'misses the mark'

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved a first-of-its-kind virtual power plant (VPP) program that will spur between 50 to 200 MW of new capacity, but renewable energy groups are criticizing the program’s approach. MPUC passed Phase 2 of Capacity*Connect from Xcel Energy, a utility-owned storage program, on Thursday. Capacity*Connect will deploy battery energy storage… The post Renewables groups believe Minnesota VPP program ‘m…

Minnesota Advances Battery Storage but Leaves Virtual Power Plant Savings Untapped

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s CapacityConnect Phase 2 yesterday, a utility-owned battery storage program that will add 50 to 200 megawatts to the energy grid. While the Commission did not move forward with a behind-the-meter virtual power plant program that would connect more customers and lower energy bills, its decision requires Xcel to quantify the benefits that the distributed batteries deployed through the…