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Xcel Energy (XEL) Boasts 10,000 MW Wind Power, To Cut Emission

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Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) is one of the first U.S energy providers to have reached the milestone of supplying 10,000 megawatts (MW) of wind energy by the end of 2020. This achievement was met via the company’s 10 new wind projects in the Upper Midwest, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico, of which many are completed.

A few more wind projects will be online by this year-end, marking the completion of the largest multi-state wind investment in the country. With new projects entering service, the utility anticipates wind energy to generate more than 31% of its energy capacity by the end of 2021.

Benefits of the Projects

These projects are part of the utility’s wind energy expansion program started in 2017. These will not only reduce carbon emissions and help it to meet its target of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 but also provide safe, reliable and affordable services to its customers.

Xcel Energy voluntarily set a target of reducing 80% carbon emissions from its 2005 baseline by 2030 and generating 100% carbon-free electricity within 2050. To this end, the utility announced plying 1.5 million electric vehicles in its service territories by 2030.

Other Sustainable Efforts

Last year, the company owned and added nearly 1,492 MW of wind to its system by completing six projects. Remarkably, it has come more than halfway to reach its interim goal by trimming 50% carbon usage in 2020 from the 2005 base-levels.

Since 2016, Xcel Energy has been making efforts to build wind farms, repower others and secure power purchase agreements worth more than 4,000 MW. Also, by the end of 2021, its owned wind projects will increase capacity from 850 MW to 4,469 MW.

Transition in U.S. Electric Utility

With the whole world resorting to renewable energy, the U.S. utility industry is also shifting its focus to clean resources for electricity generation. In 2019, wind energy was the source for generating 7.3% of total electricity in the United States. Per U.S. Energy Information Administration, total annual use of wind to generate electricity in the United States increased from 6 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2000 to 300 billion kWh in 2019. This capacity is likely to improve by 15.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2021 and by an additional 3.6 GW in 2022.

Apart from Xcel Energy, other utilities like ALLETE (ALE - Free Report) , DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) and Avista Corporation (AVA - Free Report) are tapping this opportunity to transition to cleaner energy for adopting a business strategy that is environmentally sustainable. These companies devised a plan to supply 100% clean energy to customers.

Zacks Rank and Price Performance

Xcel Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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

In the past year, shares of the utility have lost 9.7% compared with the industry’s 12.4% fall.

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