PRPA finishes key steps on big solar, battery storage and gas projects
PRPA finishes key steps on big solar, battery storage and gas projects
How Fort Collins Utilities peak electricity rates compare to nonpeak
A time-of-day rates comparison shows how much it costs Fort Collins Utilities customers to use 21 different items for one hour.
- Platte River Power Authority is building its first utility-scale battery storage system, which will be operational by the end of the year.
- The utility received a state permit to construct five aeroderivative gas turbines.
- Phase two of the Black Hollow Sun solar project is set to come online later this year.
Platte River Power Authority is kicking off construction on what will be a first for the wholesale power provider for Fort Collins and three other communities: a four-hour battery storage system that should be online by the end of the year.
The Weld Energy Storage project will be the utility’s first utility-scale battery project, part of its efforts to go as far as it believes it can to rely on all-noncarbon energy sources.
Construction begins in May, and a groundbreaking ceremony is set to happen June 4, according to information presented during the April 30 board meeting.
The system will be able to store 400 megawatt hours, or 100 megawatts over four hours, which will allow PRPA to charge the battery when renewable energy is abundant and prices are low and use it later, when demand and prices are higher.
NextEra Energy Resources will build and own the project, which will be located at the Severance substation, right next to the Black Hollow Sun solar project that began generating power last year.
Battery storage is one element of PRPA’s resource diversification plan, which calls for pursuing a 100% noncarbon energy mix without harming reliability, environmental responsibility and financial sustainability.
PRPA gets state permit for aeroderivative turbines
PRPA has received a construction permit from the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division for construction of five aeroderivative gas turbines.
The utility says the turbines are needed to provide dispatchable capacity that can be fired up when renewable sources like wind and solar are not meeting demand.
But that move has drawn criticism from environmental advocates, who say the $623 million investment could become a stranded asset that ratepayers will have to fund even if there are cleaner alternatives available after it’s built.
PRPA says the technology is actually what enables it to pursue renewables more aggressively because it provides a way to fill the gaps when renewables aren’t meeting demand.
More: PRPA sees increase in gas turbine use after joining energy market
The state construction permit, another step in the process to complete the project, was issued April 15. PRPA has already been granted a 1041 permit from Larimer County.
The turbines are expected to be up and running before the scheduled closure of the Rawhide 1 coal unit in December 2029.
There will be a 180-day period where the coal plant will be allowed to operate at the same time as the new turbines while they are being tested.
Once the turbines are cleared for commercial dispatch, Rawhide 1 will close.
Black Hollow Sun solar phase 2 completes panel installation
The last photovoltaic panel on phase 2 of the Black Hollow Sun solar project was placed in March, and it’s expected to come online in the second half of this year.
When that happens, it’ll be the largest solar project in Northern Colorado, peaking at 324 megawatts, and is expected to provide 608 gigawatt-hours of solar power each year.
ContourGlobal is developing the site, its first large-scale solar construction in the U.S.
Phase 1 built out 185 megawatts, which went online in September 2025. Phase 2 will add 139 megawatts.
How is PRPA doing on its noncarbon goal?
PRPA’s noncarbon sources made up 44% of its portfolio in the first quarter.
When the Rawhide 1 coal plant is retired by the end of 2029, it expects noncarbon sources to make up more than 80%.