(Reuters) - Xcel Energy Inc, one of the largest U.S. utilities, on Tuesday unveiled plans to accelerate its carbon reduction goals, saying it will deliver only carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050.
The Minneapolis-based company said it will cut carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, up from a previous target of 60 percent. The company has already slashed those emissions by 35 percent, it said in a statement.
"We're accelerating our carbon reduction goals because we're encouraged by advances in technology, motivated by customers who are asking for it and committed to working with partners to make it happen," Xcel Chief Executive Ben Fowke said in a statement.
Xcel serves millions of customers in eight Western and Midwestern U.S. states.
(This corrects headquarters location to Minneapolis from Denver in paragraph 2.)
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
