PSEG Solar Source Acquires 36.3 MW Colorado Project

PSEG Solar Source has acquired a 36.3 MW solar energy facility from juwi Inc. The facility, to be called the PSEG Larimer Solar Energy Center, is located 25 miles north of Fort Collins, Colo., and this latest addition to PSEG Solar Source’s portfolio represents an investment of over $54 million. The Larimer Solar Energy Center has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), a wholesale generation and transmission provider that originally called the project Rawhide Flats Solar. It will be built on a 290-acre site leased from the power authority and provide enough electricity to power 7,800 Colorado homes, according to PSEG Solar Source. juwi developed the project and is acting as its engineering, procurement and construction contractor. Construction is under way, and commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of the year. The facility will use approximately 117,000 polycrystalline panels. “Commencement of construction on this project was an important milestone for us, particularly since it represents the first utility-scale solar project that we successfully developed in our home state of Colorado,” says Michael Martin, president of juwi. “We are pleased to work with PSEG Solar Source to add another project to its portfolio and look forward to the day it will begin producing affordable and clean energy for the Platte River Power Authority and all of its owner communities.” With this acquisition, PSEG Solar Source now has 16 utility-scale projects in 12 states with a total capacity of 277 MW.

Colorado ranked 12th for solar capacity added in 2015

Colorado climbed one spot to 12th on the Solar Energy Industries Association’s ranking of states based on how much solar capacity was installed in each in 2015. And while the SEIA report noted that 87 percent of installed capacity in 2015 came in just the top 10 states, Colorado was one of just 13 states to install more than 100 megawatts. The SEIA released its 2015 report on Monday, noting that 7,286 megawatts of solar capacity was added nationwide. That’s up 17 percent from the year before, and is more than eight times as much as was installed just five years earlier. California remained in the top spot, followed by North Carolina, Nevada, Massachusetts and New York, respectively. Arizona, Utah, Georgia, Texas and New Jersey rounded out the top 10, with Maryland coming in 11th. Hawaii was one spot behind Colorado at 13th, after finishing ninth in 2014. Colorado saw 144 megawatts of new solar generation added in 2015, bringing its cumulative total over time to 542 megawatts. California, by comparison, saw 3,266 megawatts installed in 2015 alone, bringing its cumulative total to 13,243 megawatts. North Carolina added 1,160 megawatts in 2015 to bring its cumulative total to 2,113. For the first time ever, there was more solar capacity added than for natural gas, with 29.5 percent of all new electric generating capacity in the United States coming from solar in 2015. The residential solar market grew by 66 percent nationwide, while the utility-scale sector grew by 6 percent.

Why Colorado is so far ahead in meeting CPP goals

While many states are just beginning to lay out their plans to meet the ambitious goals of the Clean Power Plan, Colorado is already most of the way there, thanks in part to Xcel Energy's move away from coal-fired plants. According to an analysis by Western Resources Advocates, a Boulder-based environmental law and policy nonprofit, Colorado is up to 70% of the way toward meeting its 2030 final CPP goal, depending on how you measure it. "Xcel has been very successful in beginning this transition from a system that was mostly big coal plants," said John Nielsen, energy program director for Western Resources Advocates. "They have shown that you can begin to transition away from coal with some increased use of natural gas, but mostly with a lot of energy efficiency and renewables." The CPP aims to reduce power-sector carbon emissions in 2030 by 32 percent from 2005 levels. States can draft their own compliance plans and have until late 2018 to finish. "The CPP is reinforcement for our longstanding efforts in partnership with the state, but it's not really our leading motivation," said Jack Ihle, Xcel Energy's director for environmental policy in Colorado. "However, the CPP does validate our commitment to reducing carbon." The CPP gives states two ways of looking at those 2030 emission reduction targets. Colorado could seek to reduce by 28% its overall mass of emissions, or cut by 40% its rate of emissions per megawatt-hour generated. Both mass- and rate-based targets are calculated relative to the state's 2012 baseline. Colorado has yet to declare which type of goal it will pursue. Whichever type of CPP target they choose, states can count reductions that were implemented starting in 2012. For Colorado, this has made many projects originally planned to meet state legislative mandates a "twofer" toward CPP targets. Colorado's Clean Air Clean Jobs Act plays a significant role in this. Passed in 2010, the law directed utilities in Colorado to replace older, less efficient coal plants with cleaner sources of energy. The vast majority of projects resulting from this legislation have taken place since 2012, and many are still planned. Also, in 2004, Colorado passed the nation's first voter-led Renewable Energy Standard. Under this statute, by 2020 the two investor-owned utilities in Colorado (Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy) must generate 30% of their power from renewables, including 3% from distributed energy resources; and cooperative utilities must generate 20% of their power from renewables. "We've been a top wind energy producer for six years running," said Ihle. "There is 2,600 MW of wind generation in Colorado, including two new facilities that came online last year. Almost 1,000 MW of this capacity came online since 2012," said Ihle. "We buy nearly 100% of this wind power under long term contracts, so we count it as our own." Also, Colorado currently ranks ninth in the U.S. for installed solar capacity, with 430 MW of solar energy installed, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Xcel has a couple of utility-scale solar projects that came online in Colorado at the end of 2015, but because they were part of Xcel's 2011 resource plan, they don't count toward the state's CPP goal. While rooftop and other distributed solar abounds in Colorado, Xcel is closely eyeing future utility-scale solar projects. "Utility-scale solar has been a tremendous boon for carbon reduction," said Ihle. The company, in a recent update to its 2016-2030 Upper Midwest Resource Plan, proposed adding 1,800-MW of wind, including 800 MW by 2020, and 1,400 MW of large solar, including 400 MW by 2020. Wind is set to increase from 15% to 25% of its energy mix by 2030. On Jan. 25, the utility proposed several new projects, including a new solar choice program, Solar*Connect, which will allow customers to sign up to buy 100% solar power. The plan is to add a 50-MW solar farm to Xcel's existing 170 MW of solar generation in Colorado. Elsewhere, Colorado's Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, passed in 2007, requires investor-owned utilities to beef up demand response and adopt demand-side management programs with financial incentives for customers. Xcel is doing that but even before the legislation passed, it had begun increasing its energy efficiency offerings as part of a 2006 settlement to build the Comanche 3 coal plant near Pueblo, which began operation in 2010. Although Colorado has a strong lead on meeting its CPP goals, it still has a way to go. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (the state agency tasked with coordinating CPP compliance) is only just beginning the process of holding stakeholder meetings around the state. Although states were asked to submit CPP compliance plans by this September, CDPHE will be requesting an extension and probably filing Colorado's plan by the fall of 2017, said Chris Colclasure, planning and policy program manager for the agency. Xcel, based in Minneapolis, operates in eight states. Might its carbon reduction strategy in Colorado influence its CPP efforts elsewhere? "Our operating companies all work independently, but there are some strong similarities," said Ihle. "In Minnesota, Northern States Power has retired some older coal plants and added wind capacity. They also have a very ambitious demand side management program. And in Texas and New Mexico, Southwestern Public Service Co. has been moving into wind because it's very cheap there. However, those states haven't moved much into coal retirements yet." In a filing last month, Xcel called for $6 billion in wind and solar investment in its home state, as well as the retirement of two Minnesota coal-burning units, construction of a nearly $1 billion natural gas-fired generator and further investment to retain the carbon-free energy from its two nuclear power plants.

Five Low-Income Community Solar Projects Planned in CO

The Colorado Energy Office and GRID Alternatives plan five community solar projects to serve low-income households in western Colorado. Delta Montrose Electric Association, Gunnison County Electric Association, Holy Cross Energy, San Miguel Power Association and Yampa Valley Electric Association have volunteered to build low-income projects totaling 579 kW. Each project is designed to optimize the community solar model to reduce energy costs for the utilities' highest need customers - those who spend more than 4 percent of income on utility bills - in Colorado's rural communities. GRID received a $1.2 million Colorado Energy Office (CEO) grant in August 2015 to implement low-income community solar, and has played an instrumental role securing agreements from each utility partner.