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ALLETE's (ALE) Unit Aims to Provide 100% Clean Energy by 2050

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ALLETE’s (ALE - Free Report) EnergyForward strategy aims at a carbon-free future and focuses on lowering emission in the electricity production process. True to its commitment to climate, customers and communities, the company announced that its unit Minnesota Power targets delivering 100% carbon-free energy to customers by 2050. Currently, the subsidiary is the first Minnesota utility to provide 50% renewable energy to its customers.

Path to Cleaner Future

The company will be submitting its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Feb 1, final decision of which will likely be taken later this year. The IRP outlines the necessary steps the utility will take over the next 15 years. ALLETE has already set smaller milestones, based on which it will supply 70% renewable energy by 2030 and achieve a coal-free energy supply by 2035. Further, it targets to achieve an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 from its 2005 base line. By attaining these goals, the company will meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction target 15 years ahead of schedule.

Some of the actions include adding 400 new megawatts (MW) of wind and solar energy, and retiring Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 with a capacity of 335 MWs by 2030. Also, the company will make its Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center Unit 4 of capacity worth 468 MWs coal free by 2035, and invest in a resilient and flexible transmission and distribution grid.

Transition in Energy Space

Utilities on their own are concentrating on generating more electricity from clean sources. The companies are now focused on producing more electricity from renewable sources and natural gas. Development of large-scale battery projects across the United States is making the utility-scale renewable projects more reliable. In addition, the utilities are cutting down on production from coal units and replacing those with clean energy sources. Some of them like Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) , Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) and DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) have set a target to become net-zero emission companies by 2050.

Zacks Rank and Price Performance

ALLETE currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1  Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past six months, shares of the utility have gained 13.1%, outperforming the industry’s 7.7% growth.

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