The Smart Electric Power Alliance has named Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association in Fort Collins the 2018 SEPA Power Players Electric Cooperative Utility of the Year, in part for its Coyote Ridge Community Solar Farm. The SEPA Power Players Awards honor utilities that provide the vision, models and momentum for the electric industry’s transition to […]
Holy Cross Energy, based in Glenwood Springs, awarded $252,000 in rebates to Eagle County Schools for an interior LED retrofit. Denver-based Iconergy completed the district-wide project. Crews updated 16,000 interior light fixtures in nine schools, the district office and the transportation center, totaling over 840,000 square feet. Teachers and students will benefit from the efficient, […]
In March 2018, Gunnison County Electric Association expanded its electric vehicle program with the addition of a 2018 Chevy Bolt. The Bolt joins the co-op’s Nissan Leaf and a Chevy Spark that are currently in their EV fleet. GCEA started the electric vehicle program with a Chevy Spark as a way to provide an EV […]
Tri-State Generation and Transmission, a power supplier for 18 of Colorado’s 22 electric cooperatives helped dedicate the Dry Fork Station Integrated Test Center on May 16, 2018. The ITC is host to the Carbon XPRIZE, in which participants compete for a total of $20 million in prize money. The goal for the XPRIZE is to […]
United Power, Inc., announced in May that all members qualify to receive savings by purchasing and using a Nest programmable thermostat. The Brighton-based electric co-op now offers member rebates for new Nest purchases, as well as through a program called “Rush Hour Rewards” for members who have a Nest thermostat and central air conditioning. It […]
The board of directors for Granby-based Mountain Parks Electric, a nonprofit electric provider, approved the purchase of electricity from a 1.3-megawatt solar array to be built in Jackson County. Microgrid Energy plans to construct the solar array several miles north of Walden, just east of Highway 125. MPE will purchase the solar generation for 20 […]
By Amy Higgins Electric cooperatives are committed to making reliable and low-cost electricity available to consumer-members. To do that, many co-ops depend on their generation and transmission co-ops (G&Ts) that supply the electricity. Those G&Ts are finding new ways and new resources to help their co-ops meet the needs of their members today and tomorrow. […]
After two years of analytical research, planning, development and construction, Colorado electric co-op Southeast Colorado Power Association energized the Vilas Solar site on March 1. A partnership with RES, the solar project will provide solid energy output. The La Junta-based co-op will pay RES for the energy output from the solar site on a pre-determined […]
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Legislative Conference took place in Washington, D.C., the first week in April and Colorado co-ops attended to meet with legislators. The annual conference gives rural electric cooperative leaders the opportunity to discuss co-op priorities and legislation that directly affects co-ops and rural America. This year, one of the topics […]
“Forward-thinking and proactive” are two ways that Dan Harms, manager of rates, technology and energy policy at La Plata Electric Association, describes the Durango-based electric cooperative. Technological advances in battery storage, increased individual solar systems and electric vehicle home charging popularity put LPEA in the top percentage of rural electric cooperatives across the country. This […]