Archive for category: Energy Innovations Newsletter

Wildfires ravaged northwestern Colorado this summer, with at least three fires in Routt and Moffat counties. Steamboat Springs-based electric co-op, Yampa Valley Electric Association experienced the harsh effects of the lightning-caused Moffat County Pine Tree Fire, which was not well-contained until mid September and the Winter Valley Fire, which was spread quickly due to 50 mile per hour winds.

The Pine Tree Fire caused significant damage to the YVEA power system. Fire officials allowed co-op crews into parts of the 4,700 acre burn area to assess the damage to their lines and equipment.

YVEA had over 30 members without power due to the fire, but the co-op crews and contractors worked in extreme and challenging conditions to restore and replace the damaged infrastructure to their system. In addition to the 2 to 3 miles of overhead line that needed to be repaired, there were 33 utility poles that needed replacement, 13,200 feet of damaged aluminum conductor cable and two melted meters. The repairs will strengthen the transmission system and increase reliability in that area. The Winter Valley Fire, which spread to 7,800 acres, took out the three-phase line into Lily Park.

In both cases, the system was rebuilt with shorter spans between poles and an improved and strengthened infrastructure. This will mean fewer outages for members in these areas going forward and better reliability.

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.

Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs is promoting electric vehicles in the hopes that more of its members will buy the cars and start utilizing electricity to fuel their cars rather than gasoline.

Holy Cross officials joined dignitaries from Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties at co-op headquarters recently to announce the launch of the electric vehicle sales event, “REV Up Your Ride,” a campaign to drive up purchases of electric vehicles.

For the sales event, which runs through June 30, four auto dealerships are offering discounts on seven models of electric vehicles, including plug-in electric and gasoline hybrids and plug-in battery electric vehicles. The discounts can be combined with Colorado’s tax credit up to $5,000 and federal tax credit up to $7,500.

Vail town councilwoman Kim Langmaid says, “The EV Sales Event goal is for the dealerships to sell at least 50 electric vehicles to residents and businesses in the three counties.” The sales event also set a goal of increasing public charging stations in the region by 25 percent, growing the current number of stations to 200 by the end of the year.

Compared to other transportation fuels, electricity is the cheapest. In Colorado, the average price of gasoline is currently about $2.32 per gallon, while the price of electricity purchased from Holy Cross Energy is $0.94 per eGallon. EVs also have fewer moving parts and are often much simpler than a conventional vehicle. No oil changes are required, brakes last longer and maintenance costs can be cut in half, according to energy.gov.

“Electric vehicles are shifting the transportation fuel market away from oil and toward electricity energy, a domestic energy source,” Glenwood Springs city councilman, Stephen Bershenyi says. “That supports Colorado electric utilities and their fuel providers,” he continues, “and raises consumer demand for more renewable energy.”

Empire Electric Association in Cortez, the Colorado Energy Office and GRID Alternatives have broken ground for a community solar array that will lower the electric bills of qualified low-income residents in Empire’s southwestern Colorado service territory.

The project is part of a statewide initiative designed to demonstrate how the community solar model can be optimized to reduce energy costs for utilities’ highest need customers: those who spend more than 4 percent of their income on utility bills.

“This groundbreaking in Cortez marks the first of many that will follow in the months ahead. Through these partnerships we are simultaneously achieving two objectives: mitigating energy burden for the most financially strapped households and assisting electric utilities to achieve renewable energy goals,” said Colorado Energy Office Director Jeff Ackermann.

GRID received a $1.2 million CEO grant in August 2015 to partner with utilities to implement low-income community solar. Earlier this year, CEO and GRID announced project partners, each of which is piloting a slight variation on the low-income community solar model to address the unique needs of rural utility service areas and that co-op’s customers. The projects selected are both affordable and scalable for utility partners and offer great potential to expand across the state.

“Empire Electric will be the first demonstration project to come online, but GRID and other utility partners are already seeing a swell of incoming inquiries from the community and families who want to participate in the program,” said GRID Executive Director Chuck Watkins. “We’re already realizing a reputation of impact, integrity and effectiveness — partners, communities and people across Colorado are paying attention.”

Empire General Manager Josh Dellinger said Empire is interested in expanding renewable energy access. “As a member-owned cooperative, Empire is concerned about the best interests of our members. We see this low-income community solar project as an opportunity to positively impact the communities we serve,” he said. “Empire is providing a hand-up rather than a hand-out to the subscribers — everyone benefiting will contribute through sweat equity and contribute financially to the project through a monthly energy payment.”

On April 15 and 16 in Cortez, GRID’s programmatic barn-raising model brought members of the community together to install the 21 kilowatt solar array. Participants included employees from the utility, the subscribers benefiting, local elected officials, schools and others.

GRID also included students from Navajo Technical University, a tribal school in New Mexico that offers an Energy Systems Associates Degree and courses on photovoltaic system design and installation. The students participated in the build and had an opportunity to work and learn on an actual solar project.

Together, the volunteers and their leaders installed 70 solar panels that will help save up to 10 qualified families approximately $500 per year.