State agencies and project developers are asking the Colorado State Public Utilities Commission to quickly decide on a plan by Xcel Energy for new renewable energy facilities so the company can take advantage of expiring federal incentives.
The Colorado Energy Office, the Utility Consumer Advocate office, the PUC staff and the Interwest Energy Alliance filed an emergency motion Tuesday. The motion said any delay in approving the proposal “could risk renewable energy projects not being built in the State and Colorado losing access to important financial benefits and resource adequacy benefits.”
Xcel Energy’s plan was already on a fast track. Regulators agreed to a request in August by the company, Colorado’s largest electric utility, to speed up consideration of a plan to add roughly 4,900 megawatts of new power generation.
Most of the power would come from wind and solar energy. A 1 megawatt facility could power a few hundred homes, based on such variables as the type of energy.
Xcel has said its proposed portfolio could unlock approximately $5 billion in federal tax credits. The Colorado Energy Office, consumer advocate’s office and PUC staffers joined Xcel’s push to expedite approval of the new energy sources.
But the state agencies said in their emergency motion this week that a recent commission decision adds more steps to the process and changes the criteria for selecting energy resources. The delays resulting from the additional steps could result in billions of dollars in incentives being left on the table, the filing said.
“This is a case where a well intentioned request by the Commissioners for additional analysis is counterproductive to maintaining a reliable grid at the lowest cost to customers,” Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy, said in an email.
PUC spokeswoman Megan Castle said the commission couldn’t comment on an open proceeding. The PUC is expected to consider the emergency motion in its weekly meeting Feb. 11.
Xcel said in a statement that while it didn’t sign onto the emergency request, it shares the state agencies’ interest in getting clarity as soon as possible.
“Time is of the essence, as the resources we seek are increasingly scarce and hard to procure,” the company said.
A tax and spending bill by the Trump administration and passed by Congress in 2025, speeds up the phasing out of Biden-era federal tax credits for renewable energy projects. Under the law, wind and solar projects qualify for the tax credits of up to 30% only if they are placed in service by Dec. 31, 2027, or construction starts before July 5.
Xcel said it received more than 160 bids to a request for proposals for the energy projects. “These projects bring geographic diversity, economic development benefits and increased reliability to communities across the state, ensuring customers continue receiving dependable energy service 24/7.”
In August, Gov. Jared Polis said he was committing the state to prioritizing clean energy projects and infrastructure. He pledged to remove administrative “barriers and bottlenecks” for renewable projects, including ones eligible for federal tax credits.
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