Recent content from Walker Orenstein
Balls, orbs or neurons: The pioneering tech helping Great River Energy manage transmission lines
A small sphere Norway's Heimdall Power created aims to free up space and reduce congestion, potentially eliminating the need for new infrastructure.
Duluth electric utility owner Allete to go private after $6.2 billion sale
A Canadian pension board and an investment fund partnered to buy the company, which will keep its headquarters in Minnesota.
Minnesota Power agrees to smaller bill increase for customers in settlement
If utility regulators approve the deal with state officials, residential customers' electric rates would increase 4.9% instead of the originally posed 12%.
Minnesota DFL wants faster clean energy permits, but some are wary of shortcutting public input
Lawmakers promise an effort to cut red tape for clean power won't result in meaningfully less oversight or public involvement.
Xcel profits after job cuts, but Texas wildfire costs could be 'adverse'
The Minneapolis-based utility says it wasn't negligent in maintaining a wooden utility pole that was a source of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, but if it's found liable, costs could exceed $500 million in insurance coverage.
Xcel's proposed automatic bill credit could save low-income households in Minnesota $450 a year
The company would enroll people in certain census areas based on income metrics and energy bills to help make energy costs just 4% of the household's income.
How to solar power your home to lower your carbon footprint
There are more options for boosting solar power at home than you might think, including installing rooftop solar, subscribing to a community garden or simply paying extra to your utility.
Xcel drops rate fight, which will keep Minnesota utility bills cheaper
It also abruptly ended a long-running and unusually bitter split between the company and Public Utilities Commission about the "return on equity" rate.
Minnesota House drops 'franchise fees' on internet providers that would have hiked bills
Supporters said the policy would improve broadband access and help fund government access programming, but telecom groups lobbied against the plan.
Cause of Xcel's Prairie Island nuclear outage: Workers drilled through cables
Xcel Energy initially pinpointed the cause of a lengthy outage at its Prairie Island nuclear power plant as an equipment issue.