Yes, I know all about the photo caption~ctm

From Summit Daily

Deepan Dutta December 6, 2018

As the world turns its back on promises to curb carbon emissions, one of America’s largest utility companies has stepped up and promised to eventually eliminate its own. Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest electric utility, announced Tuesday that it intends to go 100 percent carbon-free in all eight states it serves by 2050, while reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent of its 2005 emission levels by 2030. Xcel is the first major U.S. utility to make such a commitment.

The announcement was made at the same time a new report revealed that global carbon emissions increased in 2017 by 1.6 percent after staying relatively flat for the three years prior. Emissions are expected to have increased by 2.7 percent in 2018, dashing hopes that the world had finally turned a corner on carbon dioxide production.

The utility explicitly did not commit to 100 percent renewable energy, as Summit County and the town of Breckenridge have. Mark Stutz, spokesman for Xcel Energy Colorado, said that Xcel’s goal aligns with those set by communities like Summit, but does not want to limit itself to renewables. Instead, Xcel intends to explore future technology like advanced nuclear power plants and fossil fuel power with carbon sequestration, which could offer the benefits of fossil fuel-based energy without the emissions.

“We think it matches up very well with Summit’s goals,” Stutz said. “Clearly, both sides have the same goal: improving air quality and getting to zero carbon emissions. Our approach differs slightly in that we are not limiting ourselves to current technologies. There might be some technology we’re not aware of today, something that comes out in 10 to 20 years that accomplishes the same goal without relying entirely on renewables.”

Stutz pointed out reliable wind and solar energy was considered far-fetched a few decades ago, but is now cheaper to produce than many fossil fuel counterparts. He also said that improved battery technology in the future might allow for long-term energy storage on a mass scale from renewable and emerging energy sources, eliminating the need for constant real-time generation that drives the need for fossil fuel energy today.

Summit County Commissioner Dan Gibbs applauded Xcel’s announcement.

“We believe climate change is one of the greatest threats to our economy and to our way of life here in Summit,” Gibbs said. “This is such a positive step in the right direction, for one of the nation’s major utility companies to move to 100 percent clean energy.”

Read the full story here

HT/SF

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