Xcel looking to expand solar rebate program (CO)

[jpak]

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/01/14/daily23.html

Xcel Energy Inc. on Tuesday issued a request for proposals for an expanded solar rebate program to bring solar power projects to Colorado.

The current Solar*Rewards program, run by Xcel, is aimed at small-size solar systems typically perched on rooftops and tucked into backyards. The RFP wants a company to manage larger projects, and rebates for them, capable of generating between 100 kilowatts and 2 megawatts of power.

The RFP is also separate from a request for proposals Xcel issued last week for up to 25 megawatts of solar power generation.

Xcel (NYSE: XEL) is based in Minneapolis. It is Colorado's largest utility, serving about 70 percent of the population, and scrambling to bolster its portfolio of solar power generating plants in response to state mandates that the utility get 20 percent of its power from renewable resources by 2020.

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