Xcel Energy said Monday that it intends to retire its Tolk Generating Station in West Texas four years ahead of schedule, clearing the way to exit coal usage by the end of 2030.
Xcel said winding down Tolk’s operations at its two units, with a combined capacity of 1,067 MW, early will save ratepayers more than $70 million. Tolk supplies parts of Texas and New Mexico with power. The plant faces a rapidly depleting supply of groundwater for its operations.
Xcel originally agreed to cut the operating life of Tolk from 2037 to 2032 in a 2020 stipulation over a rate increase with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Under the agreement, Xcel also committed to studying at least one scenario where it would retire the plant before 2030. New Mexico has a goal to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045.
The utility said it will soon file a revised retirement date with New Mexico regulators and put the plan to Texas regulators in February.
Xcel said it will continue flexible operations at Tolk, running the plant “when natural gas prices are high while managing limited remaining water resources.” It also said it will run Tolk’s currently installed synchronous condensers beyond 2028 to help ensure grid reliability.
The utility said it will substitute Tolk’s output with a “diverse mix of replacement generation, including wind and solar.”
“For more than 40 years, the dedicated employees at Tolk Generating Station have provided reliable and safe service to our Texas and New Mexico customers and communities,” said Adrian Rodriguez, president of Xcel Energy New Mexico and Texas. “While we maximize replacement generation in the region, we’re also committed to transition our employees into new roles as needed, something we’ve done successfully at other Xcel Energy plants.”
Xcel said Tolk’s accelerated retirement will help meet its goal to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030, when its Comanche 3 coal unit, its last coal burner is retired. The company plans to generate 100% carbon-free electricity by midcentury.
“As the first energy provider in the nation to set ambitious goals for addressing all the ways our customers use energy — electricity, heating and transportation — we are always striving to provide our customers cleaner energy resources, while saving them money,” Xcel Energy CEO Bob Frenzel said in a statement. “Advancing the retirement of coal operations at Tolk Station demonstrates our commitment to our clean energy strategy, while ensuring our customers and communities have reliable, affordable and safe service.”
Three years ago, Xcel committed to retiring its two northern coal plants in the MISO footprint by 2030. (See Xcel Latest MISO Utility to Pledge Zero Coal.)
