What happens to the energy that Crown Hydro will produce?
As an independent power producer (IPP), Crown Hydro has a power purchase agreement with Xcel Energy and will serve its customers. Xcel Energy is a public utility (PU) regulated by the public utilities commissions in the states in which it operates. Consumers are afforded the same protections regardless of whether a PU generates the energy itself or buys it from a privately owned or cooperative IPP. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), which promotes greater use of renewable energy, mandates that PUs buy power from IPPs at the “avoided cost” rate. This is the cost that the utility would incur if it were to generate or purchase from another source. Xcel Energy, which provides about half the electricity in Minnesota, has committed to providing 30% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
