Dear Joy, Thank you for this reminder that rather...

2011-10-26T14:21:43.871-07:00

Dear Joy,

Thank you for this reminder that rather than being "Responsible by Nature", the naked truth is that Xcel is "Responsible by Legislative Mandate", and "Beholden to Shareholders". Until recently I was somewhat of a fan of Xcel, as a beneficiary in Lafayette of first Windsource, then Solar Rewards, then energy efficiency rebates. But that positive attitude began to fade when they unilaterally and without warning stopped the Solar Rewards program for being "too successful", throwing the Colorado solar industry into turmoil earlier this year. I am now awaiting a successful vote on 2B/2C in Boulder, which will serve to energize my motivation to become more active in helping Lafayette move away from Xcel and toward a municipal when our contract expires in 2015. This leads me to ask a question about Solar Gardens:

For a municipal, presumably there will be no utility rebates, but will the Federal tax credit still be available to participants, and can Xcel play hardball by denying a power purchase agreement or refusing to put the electricity onto their grid? That is, will the Solar Gardens model still be viable for Boulder (and hopefully Lafayette and elsewhere) if they form a muni, or will other power purchase type agreements with private entities be needed to provide the (hopefully substantially renewable) electricity. Thanks...

Larry in Lafayette

Comments on Solar Gardens: Xcel threatens to plow under Boulder solar gardens - We want the Public Service Company back!

Dear Joy, Thank you for this reminder that rather...