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Minnesota PUC Approves Operations Extension for Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant

LCG, August 15, 2025--Xcel Energy announced that the company received state approval yesterday from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to extend operations of the Prairie Island nuclear plant through the early 2050s. Prairie Island has two units that have a combined generating capacity of 1,100 MW. The units’ current operating licenses expire in 2033 and 2034.

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PGE Announces Addition of 475 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems to Improve Grid Reliability and Costs

LCG, August 7, 2025--Portland General Electric (PGE) today announced the completion of three, four-hour lithium-ion utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Oregon, adding 475 MW and more than 1.9 GWh of dispatchable capacity to serve the Portland metro area. Each of these BESS facilities can deliver power during peak demand or when other electric generating facilities are limited, which improves system flexibility, reliability and costs.

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Industry News

Valero Board Approves Bay Area Refinery Cogenerator

LCG, March 20, 2001Valero Energy Corp., a petroleum company that recently purchased a San Francisco Bay Area refinery and gasoline stations from Exxon Corp., said yesterday its board has approved investment of $57 million in a cogeneration power plant for its refinery in Benicia, in the East Bay near the mouth of the Sacramento River.

The 51 megawatt facility, which would make the refinery self-sufficient during ordinary times, could be completed by April of next year, if the permitting process runs smoothly never a sure thing in California.

Valero said the decision, made before yesterday's rolling blackouts in California, was in response to the state's power shortage.

Rich Marcogliese, a Valero vice president and plant manager at Benicia, said "It is critical that we keep our refinery running because any power interruption could mean significant downtime, which could ultimately lead to gasoline supply shortages and price spikes. What's more, this project will allow us to retire some older, less efficient boilers, which will lower our air emissions."

Valero said the production of the cogeneration unit will be equal to or greater than the average power demand of the refinery. Additional power will be purchased as required to meet peak demand or, sold as available during low-demand periods.

The cogenerator will be fueled with light gases produced as refinery by-products, the company said, and steam produced by the unit will allow the refinery to retire older, less efficient steam generating equipment.

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