On Tuesday, Xcel Energy hosted its annual Community Breakfast. This serves to update elected officials on the state of the company over the past year and in planning for the future. 

It will come as little surprise to many Patriot readers that there was a large emphasis on carbon free energy. Currently, just under half of the energy produced by Xcel Energy is carbon free, and the company hopes to attain 100% carbon free energy production by 2050. They hope to close all coal plants within the company by 2030. Speakers noted that the inflation reduction act would help in the way of tax credits as Xcel pursues this goal, benefitting the consumer. 

Speakers noted that, in attaining these goals, the continued use of the Monticello and Prairie Island Nuclear Plants, the only two nuclear plants in the state, would be incredibly important. The Monticello plant has reliably produced carbon-free energy for over 50 years. The plant can produce over 670 megawatts of energy every year. This is roughly a third of the combined energy produced by the Sherco plant in Becker. 

Although the plant is 51 years old, it has been incredibly well maintained and Xcel hopes to continue to use it for many years to come. 

New technology is being researched currently that will allow nuclear plants to get more use of their fuel rods and possibly produce hydrogen energy. 

After the speakers presented, they opened the floor to questions from the audience. 

Felix Schmiesing, Sherburne County Commissioner, raised concerns over the lack of communication from Xcel. He noted that when Xcel planned to implement a natural gas plant in Becker to replace Sherco, they worked closely with community leaders and valued input on the project, but when they decided to implement solar panels instead, the decision was made without input from the community. Xcel representative Chris Clark acknowledged that this was a failing on the part of the company. He assured Schmiesing that Xcel valued the opinions of the public.

Several of the assembled local leaders raised concerns over possible shortages in energy, citing crises in Texas, California, and Europe.  

Clark reported that Xcel would work carefully to make sure the same situations didn’t play out in Minnesota. For one thing, they would not shut down the nuclear energy plants, whereas in Europe the nuclear plants were shut down at the same time as the coal plants. MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator), the organization in control of the power grid, does have the authority to prevent a plant from being shut down if they feel there will be a lack of reliable energy.