By Paul Wesslund Solar panels, electric cars, computer hackers, vandals and thieves might not seem to have much in common, but they’re all making big changes in your electric service. Those changes have electric utilities talking about “the substation of the future.” If everything goes according to plan, you may never even know about those […]
Durango-based Fort Lewis College celebrated the opening of the new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering (GPE) building. La Plata Electric Association and its members helped fund this building through an educational and special projects grant of $200,000 from Unclaimed Capital Credits. LPEA staff engineer, Rachel Schur-Wagner says that Fort Lewis is cutting-edge and the opening of […]
Projects focused on electricity were honored at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair thanks to CREA and the financial support of CoBank. The 62nd annual statewide science fair at Colorado State University in Fort Collins included more than 300 projects created by students in grades 6 through 12 from across the state. As a sponsor […]
By Paul Wesslund If you ever want to see one of the biggest changes going on in the world today, look around your home. Your smartphone, video gaming system, security camera, fitness bracelet, thermostat and even your television could be part of a vast, interconnected group of devices that goes by the clunky name of […]
Grand Valley Power in Grand Junction, GRID Alternatives and the Colorado Energy Office announced the development of the third phase of a low-income solar project at Grand Valley Power’s Community Solar Array. Through a partnership between GVP and GRID, the first phase of this 29 kW solar array was installed in 2015, which was the […]
Over the past decade, solar energy manufacturers and developers have made significant strides in the quality and affordability of this electric generation resource. The per-kilowatt-hour price from solar generators in the past five years has dropped almost 30 percent making this renewable resource competitive with traditional generation. For the past four years, San Luis Valley […]
By Justin LaBerge Advances in technology are bringing major changes to the energy industry. We are generating a growing portion of our electricity with renewable resources, and advances in automation and communications technology are making our power grid smarter and more reliable than ever. These advances are exciting news for American energy consumers, but they’re […]
By Paul Wesslund Batteries will soon be part of a huge change in how you will receive electricity from your electric cooperative. Utilities are currently running into electricity supply challenges, and batteries are stepping up with solutions. Here’s what electric utilities are currently facing: • High-tech equipment can fail during a power interruption of even […]
La Plata Electric Association, with offices in Pagosa Springs and Durango, works with members — both residential and commercial — to change out their lighting to new, energy efficient lamps. The cost to purchase new lighting all at once can be cost prohibitive, so the electric cooperative has been prudent with its members’ money as […]
Want to know what Colorado electric co-ops are doing to bring more renewable energy online for member-owners? Find out by viewing the Colorado Rural Electric Association’s video on energy and innovation. Titled “Innovations. Power. Community: Colorado’s Electric Cooperatives,” the video, which premiered at CREA’s annual Energy Innovations Summit, includes information on co-op solar gardens, a […]