Richard Kelly, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, recently advocated mandatory standards for reducing greenhouse gases in the power industry. The company operates power companies in eight states but, according to Kelly, his home state provided a major impetus for his decision.

“This has been something I personally feel very strong about, I was born and raised in Colorado, it’s where I’ll retire. This is where my kids are, this is where my grandkids are, it’s the right thing to do,” said Kelly.

Voters in Colorado recently approved a referendum, entitled Amendment 37, which requires the state’s largest utilities to produce at least 10 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015. Xcel Energy was among those companies opposed to the amendment.

Kelly said his company joined the battle to stop the amendment because it might cost the consumer too much, but reiterated his personal support for renewable energy and mandatory emission standards in principle. He favors an approach that would provide companies with tax credits for using clean technologies but admitted that might not be the final decision.

“We’ll live with whatever it is, we’re more into action,” said Kelly. “We really want to get something started.”