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Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc., received a grant from Charge Ahead Colorado to install electric vehicle Level 2 and Level 3 charging stations in Buena Vista. Proposed to be located on South Main, the charging stations will have two slots for Level 2 chargers and one for a Level 3 charger.

The general purpose of this project is to deploy electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state of Colorado and in the Buena Vista area with the hopes that it will reduce “range anxiety.” The inability to find public charging stations currently discourages consumers from buying EVs. According to the Colorado Energy Office, installation of the charging stations will alleviate that concern and increase the use of EVs across the state. The Buena Vista station is also expected to bring an economic boost to the area by encouraging EV drivers to pull off US Highways 285 and 24 to charge their vehicles.

SDCEA’s partnership with the Colorado Energy Office and Charge Ahead Colorado promote and support smart investments in innovative technologies. The EV charging units are expected to be online in February of 2019.

Highline Electric Association Board of Directors approved a 1.5-megawatt solar project in late 2018 and construction is slated to begin in 2019. The 5,700 single-track solar panels will follow the sun and generate 1.5 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 400-500 homes.

Highline is partnering with Denver-based Pivot Energy (formerly Microgrid Energy) to bring this project online. Named “Riverview Solar Project,” it is project is projected to generate 3.8 million kilowatt-hours per year to the communities of Sterling, Atwood, West Plains, Iliff and Crook. Power from the array will feed directly into the Platte Substation and into Highline’s distribution.

Stay informed about the positive effects of this solar project with future issues of Energy Innovations brought to you by CREA.

CORE Electric Cooperative (formally Intermountain Rural Electric Association), an electric co-op based in Sedalia, plans to roll out the first phase of its AMI initiative next month. Advanced meters will be installed at 1,000 residential, commercial and industrial locations.

Advanced metering infrastructure allows improved, two-way communications between the co-op and its meters. It will enable CORE to perform remote reading and connect/disconnect services, and will facilitate real-time troubleshooting to determine more accurate outage information. This means that the co-op will not have to dispatch field personnel to do these basic functions, thus making operations more efficient. AMI will also be used to automate parts of the distribution system and will allow CORE to better monitor voltage levels, thus strengthening reliability.

AMI allows CORE customers to access energy usage and cost through an online customer portal. It also allows customers to choose when the meter will be read each month for billing purposes. Overall, the co-op anticipates AMI will empower members to access more data on their electricity usage and make personalized adjustments going forward.

CORE’s service territory covers 5,000 square miles and the co-op will replace all current meters with AMI over the next several years at no charge to its consumer-members and with no rate increase.

San Isabel Electric Association, based in Pueblo West, partnered with American manufacturer Titan LED to brighten the day — and space — of two businesses in the co-op’s service territory.

First Choice Market in Walsenburg received a $17,955 rebate check after it upgraded more than 450 light fixtures in the store. This not only increased the life span of the lighting up to eight times, but it gives the small business an average of $950 in monthly savings on its electric bill.

Valley Market is also saving money on its monthly electric bill, to the tune of $650. The business is grateful to be able to pass those savings along to its customers. The Colorado City-based market received a $9,675 rebate from SIEA. An additional added benefit is that the market is saving employee’s time and energy by no longer needing to replace expensive, old-fashioned lightbulbs that were frequently burning out.

SIEA points out that energy savings vary depending on building specifications, the scope of the project, overall energy usage and other factors, but it is eager to offer this program to commercial accounts in its territory. For more information on this and other rebate programs the co-op offers, visit siea.com/rebates.

A proposal for a 30-megawatt solar array situated in Nucla has been submitted to Tri-State Generation and Transmission.

The solar array would be built directly into the Nucla-Maverick Substation in Montrose County in southwestern Colorado. This substation powers three lines across Colorado, including one to Telluride. The array would increase and provide local renewable energy for San Miguel Power Association and to consumers across its service territory.

The Nucla coal plant is slated to be shut down in 2022, and there is hope that this solar project will replace the coal plant energy output to the area. County officials support the project and expect the potential construction and installation to create new jobs for the area.

This proposal is currently being reviewed by Tri-State. CREA will continue to track the progress of and report on this potential project.