With a goal of generating 40,000 kilowatt hours, about the same amount that his center pivot sprinkler uses, Jim Park installed an innovative micro hydroelectric project on his corn and alfalfa farm in Weld county.

Typically seen on the Western Slope, agricultural hydroelectric projects on the eastern plains and the Front Range are still gaining popularity and traction. After his 20-year service as a Poudre Valley REA board member, and the owner of a 260-acre Colorado Centennial Farm, Park was knowledgeable and interested in hydroelectric generation.

After receiving coordinated grants from the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Park ordered a cross-flow turbine generator from the Ossberger company based in Germany. Park placed the turbine at the bottom of a 25-foot slope in his irrigation diversion off the Lower Latham ditch. The turbine was manufactured specifically for his land elevation, water volume and generation needs. The ditch runs from April to November and the turbine began generating power in June 2017.

Park will eventually see a positive return on his investment, and if the unit generates more energy than needed to run his sprinkler, a portion of the overage will be treated as a savings on his electric bill through PVREA.

Fort Collins-based PVREA cooperative partnered with Park for this project and provided him the interconnection for it to come back to his metering.

Glenwood Springs-based Holy Cross Energy CEO, Dr. Bryan Hannegan, was a valuable witness representing rural electric cooperatives at the Energy Subcommittee Powering America Hearing, held by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 26. The goal of this hearing was to provide insight into the nation’s electric grid and electricity markets and how rapidly-evolving technology innovations have a role in empowering consumers by giving them greater control.

During the introduction of the hearing, Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI 6th District) stated that the United States electric grid has been transforming in a way that allows consumers to become active market participants, in which they expect control, convenience and choice. The hearing and the testimony from the panel of witnesses shed light on the challenges that prevent advanced energy technologies from deploying around the country.

The panel—including Dr. Hannegan— reported that although the electric industry is regulated to ensure that all Americans have access to reliable and affordable electricity, changing technologies require a grid that allows two-way flows. Several members of the panel emphasized that battery storage and microgrids provide grid resiliency and localized solutions to keep electricity reliable and affordable.

When asked a question by a subcommittee member about the advantages for microgrids in rural areas, Hannegan replied that microgrids improve reliability and service, especially during natural hazard events, such as the snowstorms Holy Cross experiences in their service territory. He pointed out that microgrids are always helpful in addition to grid supply and that local generation solutions are a better option in those situations.

Dr. Hannegan reminded the subcommittee that infrastructure is important in light of the wildfires and hurricanes around the nation that recently compromised electric stability, especially in Puerto Rico. He also emphasized that local decision-making must “remain paramount” and that electric regulations are not a one-size-fits-all situation. He explained how rural electric co-ops have a small employee base, how their linemen work differently because of technology, how their member service staff will want to rethink how they interact with customers who have a choice in their electricity needs and how all of those factors may lead to a new look at the standard co-op principles. Despite these challenges, he still thinks that innovative and evolving technologies are exciting because it gives co-ops access to solar and wind where the “price points are nearly a wash.”

With “no shortage of feedback from co-op members,” Holy Cross is aware that members will ask for electricity innovations that they’ve read about or have seen on television. And since electric co-ops are “heavily embedded in the communities they serve,” the feedback the co-op receives “forces a pace of innovation on the co-op.” Hannegan was quick to point out that the challenge of co-op boards is to make sure they strike a balance of what co-op members want and what makes fiscal sense.

He spoke to the fact that the architecture of the grid is changing from a hub and spoke model with passive consumers to “a dynamic decentralized and distributed grid” via digitization, metering data and software developments. He pointed out that co-ops are naturally consumer-centric being member-owned nonprofit distributors. He told the committee that even with rapidly-changing technologies, co-ops will continue to prioritize the needs of their members while developing and deploying the technologies to provide safe, affordable and reliable electricity.

The Cotopaxi and Texas Creek areas had extra air traffic this summer, but minimal impact on the local, mountainous terrain, thanks to the local electric co-op. The same was true on the Western Slope when a helicopter was used for power line inspections.

It was Sangre de Cristo Electric, headquartered in Buena Vista, which brought the helicopter to the mountain sides along the Arkansas River. The co-op needed to set four 900-pound poles, but the difficult and fragile terrain prevented safe access with typical co-op equipment. So, the helicopter was called in and the job was completed.

Colorado electric cooperative, Delta-Montrose Electric Association, also recently recruited the help of a helicopter to conduct line inspections across its service territory. The aerial patrol program helps DMEA inspect lines on parts of the power system that are difficult to reach in mountainous terrain. Crews in the helicopter scan for damaged equipment and linemen ride along to look for other potential problems before they cause outages. Damaged equipment can heat up, so hot spots are identified from the helicopter above through thermal imaging equipment

More than 3,000 miles of power lines will undergo aerial line patrol this year as part of DMEA’s system reliability program. Inspections help ensure safe and reliable power to homes and businesses across the DMEA service territory.

This use of helicopters is another example of how Colorado co-ops are always looking ahead to find innovative approaches to providing safe, low-cost, environmentally-friendly electricity to their service territories.

Colorado’s electric co-ops are part of a national organization that does energy efficiency research and are watching as two power cooperatives in Minnesota take the lead in advancing clean and efficient student transportation.

There are already 90 electric school buses in the North America, one of which will run in Minnesota starting this fall for the 2017-2018 school year. Great River Energy and Dakota Electric Association have partnered with Schmitty and Sons, and are working on securing two more for their school districts in their rural service territories. Cooperatives serve more than 8,000 of the United States’ 13,325 school districts, meaning partnerships like this one between electric co-ops and school districts could provide a nationwide model going forward.

The upfront cost of these electric vehicles starts at $325,000, but the potential savings in maintenance and fuel costs each year will be upwards of $10,000 per bus.

The eLion school bus seats 72 students, and is 100 percent electrically powered. This specific model can go 100 miles, and with the average school bus route in the United States being 60 miles, there is enough range for these electric vehicles to do many of the bus routes (even in cold weather) without having to charge in the middle of the day. It takes four to six hours to charge the bus, and most will charge overnight while taking advantage of lower electricity demand.