Oct. 28--Testimony about carbon emissions from a proposed coal- fired power
plant and its effect on global warming will be allowed in a major regulatory
hearing beginning next week, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission ruled
Wednesday. In its ruling, the PUC denied a request from Xcel Energy to disallow the
testimony on Xcel's plan for a $1.3 billion power plant near Pueblo. The coal-fired plant is the centerpiece of the utility's 10-year plan to
provide enough power to serve Colorado's growing population. The PUC on Monday begins a three-week hearing on the power plan. In addition to the 750-megawatt coal plant, Xcel has proposed at least 500
megawatts of new wind-generated power and an undetermined amount of
natural-gas-fired generation. One megawatt serves about 650 homes. Parts of the plan have been hotly contested, including Xcel's proposal to
build the coal plant itself instead of submitting the project for competitive
bidding and the utility's desire to bill customers for the cost of the plant
before its projected opening in 2009. The PUC's ruling will allow testimony from James White, director of the
Environmental Center at the University of Colorado. On behalf of the city of Boulder, White has filed written testimony on carbon
emissions' contribution to global warming. The PUC also will allow testimony on environmentalists' desire to have the
Pueblo plant use a clean-coal technology known as gasification, which Xcel has
said would be too costly compared to a conventional coal-burning plant.
Visit http://www.powermarketers.com/index.shtml for excellent coverage on your energy news front.