on October 09, 2020

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Sign Our Petition and Say NO to an Xcel Energy Green New Deal!

Written by Isaac Orr

Xcel Energy is currently trying to get the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to rubber stamp their own version of the Green New Deal. Under this plan, the company would spend $57 billion on wind turbines, solar panels, natural gas plants, and mysterious "firm peaking" capacity, and stick your family or business with the bill. Xcel's preferred plan will increase electric bills for each of their customers by $1,428 per year through 2050 and have zero measurable impact on future global temperatures. It's crucial to remember that Xcel Energy is NOT a private company. They are a government-approved monopoly, and you are...

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on August 26, 2020

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Xcel Should Skip the Solar and Wind and Plan for A Nuclear Future

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Last weekend the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an article entitled Xcel Looks At New Nuclear Options As it Moves to Carbon-Free Power Goals. The article explains that nuclear energy is critical to Xcel Energy's carbon free energy plans and the role that newer nuclear reactors could play in their energy portfolio. It is very telling that Xcel wants to build new nuclear power plants because according to a recent filing with Minnesota regulators, the company clearly knows that building a grid to operate on high levels of wind and solar penetration is a recipe for the kind of blackouts that recently affected 2...

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on August 05, 2020

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Xcel Energy CEO, Ben Fowke, Was the 4th Highest Paid CEO in Minnesota in 2019

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Xcel Energy CEO, Ben Fowke, was the fourth-highest paid CEO in Minnesota in 2019, making $23.3 million in total compensation, according to an analysis in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. As proponents of free market principles, Center of the American Experiment does not take issue with CEO compensation at private companies, but as we have discussed many times before, Xcel Energy is not a private company. Private companies must compete for your business. If you don't like their product or their price, you are free to choose another provider. But Xcel Energy is a government approved monopoly, not a private company, and their "customers" are...

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on June 26, 2020

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Families With Xcel Energy Pay More For Their Electricity Than People Living In All But 12 States

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Xcel Energy bombards the airwaves with commercials stating how they are going to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide "affordable" energy to their customers. The problem with these slogans is that they are entirely false. For example, in this statement from Xcel Energy Chairman and CEO, Ben Fowke. Mr. Fowke states: "One of the many things we’ve learned from this pandemic is that nature can be our refuge, and we must protect it for current and future generations. For the past 15 years, we have led the clean energy transition while ensuring reliability and enhancing affordability. In December of 2018, we became...

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on June 22, 2020

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Xcel Proposes $3B in Renewable Projects to Bolster Corporate Profits During Pandemic

Written by Isaac Orr

in Economy

Last week the Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran an article entitled "Xcel Proposes $3B in Renewable Projects to Bolster Economy Dogged by Pandemic." In the article, the author discusses Xcel's plan to spend billions of dollars on renewable energy projects. What is missing from the piece is Xcel's underlying motive for fast forwarding the projects, exploiting the high unemployment caused by the COVID-19 shutdown to increase their government-guaranteed corporate profits. There is No Free Market for Electricity in Minnesota One of the single-most important things conservatives need to know about Minnesota’s electric system is that there is no free market for electricity, and investor owned...

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on June 12, 2020

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Why the Minnesota “Conservative” Energy Forum’s “Cleaner and Cheaper” Slogan is a Fraudulent Talking Point

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Yesterday, I wrote about how the Minnesota "Conservative" Energy Forum received nearly 86 percent its funding from the liberal Energy Foundation in 2017, the most recent year for which data are available. While this should raise big red flags for Minnesota conservatives, the policies that MNCEF advocates for are ultimately far more important than where they get their funding. Unfortunately, MNCEF uses this money to try and convince conservative Minnesotans that renewable energy sources like wind and solar are "cleaner and cheaper" than traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, and nuclear power, even though wind and solar are far more...

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on January 16, 2020

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Center of the American Experiment Testifies on the Minnesota Senate’s Clean Energy First Bill in Rochester

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Last night, I drove down to Rochester to testify at a hearing on the Minnesota Senate's Clean Energy First bill. As you will see in my testimony, this proposed legislation offers several significant improvements over previous legislation introduced to shape Minnesota's energy future, such as those proposed last session by Governor Walz and the Minnesota House of Representatives. However, there are still a few problematic parts of this legislation that I address later on in my comments. My testimony begins at 1:31:29 and I've pasted my comments below with additional links to provide references for my testimony. https://www.facebook.com/mnsrc/videos/477619166520895/ January 15, 2020 Testimony Clean Energy...

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on January 07, 2020

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Xcel Energy Electricity Bills Will Increase $50 This Year Due to Renewable Energy

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Xcel Energy is seeking to increase your electricity prices by 4.736 percent in order to pay for an additional $101.8 million in spending on wind projects between 2019 and 2020. This will cause the average family with Xcel Energy to pay about $52 more in 2020 than they did in 2018. As a result, these families would pay the highest electricity bills they have ever paid....

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on November 18, 2019

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Our Perspective: Minnesota’s Days of Cheaper Electricity Seem Numbered

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

This weekend, Mike Hughlett of the Star Tribune wrote an excellent article entitled "Minnesota's Days of Cheaper Electricity Seem Numbered," which details how Minnesota electricity prices have increased substantially in the last 15 years. The piece is an important acknowledgement that the energy policies pursued in Minnesota are causing electricity costs to rise, an argument Center of the American Experiment has been making since late 2017. I have included portions of the article below and added additional commentary to provide more context to help readers understand the topic in a more comprehensive manner. The article begins below: "Hefty rate hikes that Minnesota’s...

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on November 08, 2019

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NREL Data: There’s Virtually No Demand for Voluntary Renewable Energy Programs

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

I often hear that there is a massive demand for wind and solar power among utility customers, but if this were true, one would expect participation in programs like Xcel Energy's Windsource and Renewable Connect to be off the charts. However, according to data compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), almost no one enrolls in these voluntary programs. For example, NREL data show Xcel Energy sold 424,589 megawatt hours (MWh) of voluntary renewable energy in 2017. That may sound like a lot, but it accounts for just 1.39 percent of all the electricity Xcel sells in Minnesota. When you consider the fact that Xcel Energy...

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