Study Overview
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business produced this report that evaluated the economic impact of alternative generation plans in four Minnesota communities and the state overall using their six-region REMI E3+ model. Their analysis focused on the state’s major electric utility, Xcel Energy, and its 2019 resource plan that included five scenarios related to replacing coal-fired generating facilities with a combination of solar power, natural gas, wind, and the extension of nuclear generating facilities. After outlining the methodologies behind their report, the Leeds School of Business provided detailed results for each of the Xcel Energy generation scenarios projected out to the year 2045. This examination found that, in terms of percentage change in jobs, personal income, and GDP, the state economy would experience negligible impacts, but local economies would register more significant impacts in each simulation.