Giving Compass' Take:

· Although major power companies are making pledges to achieve net zero emissions by the mid-century, many are finding it difficult to let get of fossil fuels. 

· How can utilities begin to gradually wean off of natural gas? What other sources of energy can be used?

· Read more about this promise to achieve net zero emissions here.

As major U.S. utilities began making pledges this past year to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero, or close to it, by mid-century, one of them was already drawing up a road map to make it happen.

Minneapolis-based Xcel was the first large investor-owned utility in the country to set the goal, in December 2018, and it spent 2019 planning how to get there.

But even a leader in renewable energy like Xcel is finding it difficult to shed fossil fuels completely before the 2040s, raising questions about any utility's ability to break from coal without adding new carbon energy in other forms, mainly natural gas.

Xcel, which serves 3.6 million customers in eight states, laid out a detailed proposal in 2019 for the Upper Midwest part of its territory. It is proposing to retire coal plants early, extend the life of a nuclear plant, and dramatically expand solar and wind energy.

"They are putting some very tangible flesh on the bones to get to their 2050 goal," said Kevin Lee, director of the climate and energy program for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. It's a "pretty monumental thing," he said.

Read the full article about achieving net zero emissions by Dan Gearino at InsideClimate News.