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By Joe Smyth | joe@cleancooperative.com | @joesmyth A look at two Colorado electric cooperatives navigating the implications of solar power’s declining costs Emily Bowie at San Juan Citizens Alliance writes about how the La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) board of directors is discussing the implications of the declining costs of solar energy. Bowie describes how the “board’s touchiest topic is how the declining costs of renewable energy (and rising costs of coal) should impact LPEA’s future.” Some board directors are concerned about how declining solar power costs could encourage more customers to install their own rooftop solar arrays, and what that might mean for the electric cooperative. Other board members are more focused on the opportunity for LPEA to take advantage of falling solar power prices, by pursuing its own solar projects. As LPEA director Bob Lynch put it, “I want to be part of a plan that figures out how to use solar to help all our members.”  San Juan Citizens Alliance graphic outlining distributed and centralized power generation By Joe Smyth | joe@cleancooperative.com | @joesmyth The town of Breckenridge passed a resolution last week establishing a goal to power the community with 100% renewable electricity by 2035. Breckenridge joins other Colorado towns and cities that are pursuing 100% renewable energy, including Pueblo, Boulder, and Nederland. Aspen achieved its 100% renewable energy goal in 2015, while other towns and cities including Denver and Durango are also considering renewable energy goals. The responses from the utilities that serve those Colorado towns and cities show that these 100% renewable energy goals are helping push the region toward a cleaner electricity grid, achieving a broader impact than sustainability goals that remain within the boundaries of a municipality. That’s consistent with a new report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which argues that cities should focus their sustainability efforts on four strategic areas for maximum impact. First among those four strategic areas is using their position as major electricity consumers to help decarbonize the electricity grid: While cities may believe they have little influence over the grid mix, in fact, they often represent a major portion of any local electric utility’s customers, potentially giving them significant leverage to shape the emissions profile of the electricity consumed within their metropolitan area. Still, capturing this opportunity will not be easy, and cities cannot do it alone. Utilities and regulators must play a central role in ensuring the overall mix of renewables is appropriately balanced at a system level and that critical components such as energy storage are in place to ensure grid reliability. Nevertheless, cities have an essential role to play by setting clear decarbonization goals, aggregating demand for renewables, promoting energy efficiency, and shifting more urban energy consumption to electricity (especially in transportation and heating). Lowering the emissions intensity of the electricity grid is an especially impactful way that municipalities in the Rocky Mountain region can advance their sustainability goals, because the region’s grid is more dependent on coal, and therefore more carbon intensive, than other parts of the US. But as these Colorado towns and cities seek to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, they face varying challenges in working with the different utilities and electric cooperatives that sell electricity in Colorado. Colorado towns and cities are served by two investor owned utilities, 29 municipal utilities, and 22 rural electric cooperatives, according to the Colorado Energy Office Let’s look at four Colorado municipalities pursuing renewable energy goals, each with a different electricity provider: Breckenridge, Pueblo, Aspen, and Durango. 
By Joe Smyth | joe@cleancooperative.com | @joesmyth
At the recent 21st Century Energy Transitions Symposium, former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter asked the governors of Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming: How do you ensure that the residents of your state aren’t left out of the energy transition underway that Amory Lovins presented in his keynote remarks?
It was the final question that Ritter asked during the Governors’ Panel, and the only one he posed to all three members of the panel: Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, and Wyoming Governor Matt Mead. Amory Lovins, chief scientist and co-founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, had earlier delivered the Symposium’s keynote address, showing that rapidly changing technologies, business models, and price trends are driving the energy transition from “the obsolete age of carbon” to “the modern age of silicon.” It’s worth watching Amory Lovins' full presentation
By Joe Smyth | joe@cleancooperative.com | @joesmyth
At the 2017 21st Century Energy Transitions Symposium, former Colorado Governor and Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy Bill Ritter asked the governors of Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming: How do you ensure that the residents of your state aren’t left out of the energy transition underway that Amory Lovins presented in his keynote remarks? I summarized and wrote about the governors’ responses, and how we might ask similar questions of electric cooperatives. To help provide a more complete record, I’ve also transcribed the governors’ full responses below, lightly edited for clarity. Thanks to the 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium and Colorado State University for hosting the event and providing videos of the Governors’ keynote lunch panel and all the other sessions.
By Joe Smyth | joe@cleancooperative.com | @joesmyth Next week, United Power will switch on its biggest solar project yet. At 16 megawatts, the SR Platte solar array will produce enough electricity to power 2,700 homes, and help the electric cooperative save money on its electricity purchases. But because of its contract with its electricity supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, United Power is unlikely to build more solar arrays any time soon, so it's shifting its focus to energy storage.  United Power's Mavericks solar array near Mead, Colorado |
Recent ArticlesColorado Public Utilities Commission asserts jurisdiction over Tri-State
More Colorado co-ops announce clean energy goals Ski industry climate change efforts shift to electric utilities and their regulators Public Utilities Commission rejects Tri-State motion to exclude Colorado Energy Office from exit charge case Tri-State claims that co-ops "have intervened on Tri-State's behalf at the PUC” don’t add up Colorado state legislators urge Public Utilities Commission to determine Tri-State exit charge United Power says Tri-State policies are turning away large customers Next PUC Commissioner John Gavan "consensus choice" of Governors Hickenlooper and Polis Tri-State policy change discourages battery projects in rural Colorado and New Mexico Colorado Public Utilities Commission orders Tri-State to "satisfy or answer" exit charge complaint from Delta Montrose Electric United Power seeks solutions to "increasingly outmoded G&T business models" Clean Energy Means Business Summit highlights renewable energy opportunities and challenges in rural Colorado Governor-elect Jared Polis says moving Colorado toward more renewable energy will be a top priority Electric cooperative officials discuss cheap renewable energy and an “eroding monopoly” Delta Montrose Electric members vote for new financing options, supporting a potential buyout of Tri-State contract Poudre Valley Electric requests Tri-State policy changes and fuel mix study Holy Cross Energy plans to shift away from coal, aiming for 70% renewable energy What do corporate renewable energy commitments mean for electric utilities? Colorado Energy Plan approval will mean new renewable energy investments in rural Colorado Report: Tri-State could save $600 million by shifting from coal to renewable energy Delta Montrose Electric seeks new financing options to end contract with Tri-State Wind energy jobs in rural Colorado attract bipartisan support Colorado Energy Plan analysis shows switching from coal to renewable energy will boost jobs and local tax revenue Poudre Valley Electric and Xcel Energy Colorado President win national awards from Smart Electric Power Alliance Latest coal plant subsidy proposal could hit electricity bills in the West Moody’s report: “High quality renewable resources” could help Tri-State and Basin Electric navigate rising carbon transition risks Senator Heinrich highlights “frustrations in New Mexico” with Tri-State’s limits on local solar Moody’s report shows Tri-State’s coal plants are more expensive than new renewable energy Tri-State’s limits on local energy development are a growing problem for co-op members Governor Hickenlooper discusses Tri-State at the Climate Leadership Conference Bids for Xcel’s Colorado Energy Plan include a proposal for the world’s largest battery New wind and solar power in Colorado is now cheaper than existing coal plants Companies' 100% renewable energy goals are getting results in Colorado What does cheap solar mean for electric cooperatives? Colorado towns and cities are helping push utilities to embrace renewable energy How are electric cooperatives navigating the transition from coal to cheap clean energy? Blocked from building more solar projects, United Power shifts to community batteries Economic reality sets in for Tri-State efforts to expand the Holcomb coal plant Solar projects in the works in Grand and Jackson counties Mountain Parks Electric grapples with solar Categories
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