The transmission line is aimed at bolstering grid reliability as renewable energy replaces traditional coal-fired plants. It was one of 18 projects approved by the region's grid operator Monday.
The commitment, published at the end of three days of talks, was weaker than a previous draft of the final communique seen by Reuters, which had included a target to end unabated coal power generation by 2030. Sources familiar with the discussions said Japan and the United States had both indicated they could not support that date.
Climatologist Mark Seeley said at many Minnesota climate stations, the first four months of the year had daily wind gusts of 30 miles per hour or more on 60% of days.
Xcel plans to close all three of Sherco's coal units by 2030. It wants to replace a portion of that electricity with a 460-megawatt solar project that would cover about 3,200 acres just outside of Becker.
The move comes after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions and boycotts that followed launched retail gasoline prices to record highs, a vulnerability for Biden's fellow Democrats in November's congressional elections.
As solar developers propose new, often sprawling projects, local governments and activist groups are seeking to block them and often succeeding. They cite esthetics that would harm property values to fears about health and safety, and loss of arable land, farm culture, or wildlife habitat.
U.S. consumers may get gouged at the gas pump but will likely be able to maintain much of their expected spending on other goods and services because of the savings accumulated during the last two years thanks to emergency federal programs.
Russia is the world's top exporter of crude and oil products combined, at about 7 million barrels per day (bpd ) or 7% of global supply. Such a ban would be unprecedented, turbocharging already sky-high prices and risking inflationary shock.
March 08, 2022 08:31 AM
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By Noah Browning, Simon Jessop and Balazs Koranyi / Reuters
BlackRock faces a balancing act as some pension funds and endowments move to divest from fossil fuel stocks over climate-change concerns, and because of its size. Like rivals, BlackRock has declined to follow suit.
