DMEA selected for community solar demonstration project

The Colorado Energy Office and GRID Alternatives announce five community solar projects designed to demonstrate the viability of community solar models that serve low-income households. 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. "Colorado has always been a leader in renewable energy, and now we take another innovative step forward as we create community solar models that are more affordable and available to Colorado rural electric cooperatives and the low-income communities they serve," said Colorado Energy Office director Jeff Ackermann. GRID Alternatives 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. GRID leveraged the CEO investment to attract additional resources from partnering utilities, private funds and in-kind equipment donations. "We have seen a tremendous groundswell of hard-working families wanting solar and the benefits it brings," said Chuck Watkins, executive director of GRID Colorado. "These community solar projects not only provide solar access, they have a community impact. GRID brings savings to families that need it most, job training in a fast-growing industry and clean, renewable energy that benefits everyone." Each utility is piloting a slight variation on the low-income community solar model to address the unique needs of rural utility service areas and their customers. The projects selected are both affordable and scalable for utility partners, and offer great potential to expand across the state. "Working to provide access to locally generated and renewable energy for all of our members, regardless of their income, is part of what we consider the cooperative difference," said Delta-Montrose Electric Association CEO Jasen Bronec.

Solar’s big gains in Colorado, but how it can be sold more broadly

Solar numbers in Colorado are starting to add up. A recent study by the Colorado Energy Office found that 30,000 photovoltaic solar installations exist in the state, sufficient to power 100,000 homes. The combined capacity of 540 megawatts still pales in comparison to the 1,410-megawatt capacity at the Comanche complex in Pueblo and 1,339-megawatt capacity at Craig. Too, some will also point out the obvious: the sun doesn’t always shine. But if solar remains distant as an energy source, it’s now moving rapidly into the mainstream, part of a now fast-moving transition in our energy paradigm. Reduced cost explains much of this greater deploying, according to Rebecca Cantwell, director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association. In remarks at the Alliance Center last week, Cantwell pointed out that solar cells today cost 100 times less than they did in 1977, during the last big binge of constructing coal-fired power plants in Colorado. Unlike those big power plants, she pointed out, solar can be deployed on many scales. Collectors are now available that you can set outside on a park bench, to recharge your phone while you toss a Frisbee to your dog. At the other extreme, some utilities are now deploying giant solar farms. Solar has become strong enough that a pilot project, involving a rural electrical cooperative, is being developed with the goal of creating a replicable business model that does not rely upon state mandates or subsidies. Cantwell also mentioned that it would make sense to put solar panels on the city’s tall buildings. She reported that it shouldn’t be that hard, but did not detail what has to be done. But she did point to a “big looming issue,” the need to reform the business model of utilities. Amory Lovins talked about this decades ago, pointing out that utilities should be paid for the services they deliver, not just the number of electrons they deliver. What we care about, he famously said, is that our beer is cold, not how much electricity it takes to chill it. Regulation of investor-owned utilities, now in place for about a century, encourages large-scale but inefficient supply. But this has also worked against expansion of renewable energy, which has almost always been more expensive than fossil fuel-based energy until the last few years. Now, some utilities are plotting their strategies about how to evolve to this new reality of expanded deployment of smaller decentralized energy sources such as rooftop collectors. Xcel Energy earlier this year announced a new program, Our Energy Future. The program has several elements, including new opportunities for customers to buy solar but at the utility-owned installations such as one now being constructed at Pueblo through a program called Solar*Connect. Two pilot programs involving battery storage are also being launched by Xcel. Working in partnership with Panasonic Enterprise Solutions at a site near Denver International Airport, Xcel will pilot a program for commercial customers. The second test of battery storage will be in the city’s Stapleton neighborhood, where nearly 20 percent of homes have rooftop solar. But who will be in charge? In March, at the COSEIA annual conference in Broomfield, Karl R. Rabago, executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, suggested that leaving utilities in charge as we decentralize energy production on rooftop and other locations was akin to the company stores of the old coal-mining towns. “Increasingly, today’s traditional utility looks and feels a lot like that,” he said. Calling that example to mind, Cantwell said that Colorado, after demonstrating among the most brisk of leadership, has been slipping of late. Still, clean-tech companies have been finding Denver and Colorado more broadly attractive. Sunrun last December announced it was relocating from California to an office on the 16th Street Mall. There, it now has 300 of its 4,000 direct employees. It is also looking to hire 800 people, said Walker Wright, the company’s director of public policy. Wright pointed out that Sunrun was courted with incentives by a number of states, including Nevada and Arizona, but chose Colorado. A major draw, he said, was the reputation of Denver as a haven for “young, hip professionals who love tech.” He also noted the high penetration of solar, No. 8 in the nation (compared to 23rd in population). “There’s something in the water here,” he conjectured. For solar to grow, he emphasized, it has to be sold as more than just an answer to an environmental problem. Some favor it for energy security, for example, “We have to push as many angles as possible,” he said. Like Cantwell, he also discussed the evolving battle between distributed energy providers and traditional utilities. And solar, he said, is no longer a “small cottage industry,” but rather a “challenge to utilities in the way that Uber is a challenge to taxi drivers and Airbnb is a challenge to hotels.” Experts say the electrical grid can still accommodate much larger quantities of renewable energy without encountering problems related to intermittency. But for deeper penetration, improved storage techniques will be necessary, possibly including batteries. Wright pointed to work by two major companies, Tesla and Solar City. Elon Musk sits on the boards of directors of both, he said. He suggested that between now and 2019, the price of battery storage will tumble just as precipitously as solar panels did between 2000 and 2009. All of this bodes well for Denver, with its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. Representatives of Denver’s Department of Environmental Health said current emission sources are: commercial 35%, residential 15%, gasoline vehicles 15%, food production 14%, air travel 7%, fuel production 6%, diesel vehicles 4%, cement production 3%, and waste (including landfills) 1%. Allen Best

Colorado Mountain College: Sustainability studies to sustainable jobs

As diverse as we are, sustainability helps keep the world together. Take Nikki Maline, Bailey Matthews and Mikayla Curtis, for instance. They earned Colorado Mountain College sustainability degrees and now make their livings in energy and science education, solar and green building and providing youth with ongoing opportunities. Sustainability, they said, links them all together. “Our careers are all intertwined and connected,” said Maline. Nikki Maline arrived in Eagle County from Nebraska in 1997 with an Associate of Arts degree from Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte. She had worked in real estate, but it felt more like a job than a career. She spotted Colorado Mountain College’s bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies in Edwards, and set sail. She graduated last May. “It was so perfect,” she said. “It made such sense to me.” These days, Maline is the energy programs coordinator at Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon. She’s sort of an energy coach for individuals and businesses. “I love my job,” Maline said. “It’s a totally different working environment than real estate. I can make a difference.” EARLY EDUCATION TO SOLAR ENERGY Bailey Matthews migrated to Eagle County from Nebraska. After earning her associate degree from Western Nebraska Community College, she came to Colorado and taught special education at Battle Mountain High School for seven years, while taking night classes at CMC. “One of the things I liked about getting my degree with CMC’s sustainability program, was that there was no preaching,” Matthews said. “Mercedes (Associate Professor of Sustainability Studies Dr. Mercedes Quesada-Embid) is brilliant. She teaches without judgment. She gives her students the power to decide.” Possibly the best sustainable thing about Matthews’ sustainability degree is affordability. “I was able to graduate without a huge student loan,” Matthews said. Matthews is the solar project manager at Active Energies in Minturn, working with a team consulting, designing and building solar systems for residential and commercial projects. And there’s another advantage. “I can bring my dog to work,” she said with a smile. SUSTAINABILITY IN ALL ITS FORMS Mikayla Curtis already had two college degrees when she decided to study for a sustainability leadership certificate. Curtis was born and raised here, and graduated Vail Christian High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound and her master’s degree in negotiation, conflict resolution and peacebuilding from California State University, Dominquez Hills. Because of her interest and past experience in family and youth development — she had overseen leadership development programs for SOS Outreach in Edwards, for example — Curtis was most interested in studying sustainable social science, such as food systems and cultural equity. “The certificate program pieced together a little bit of everything,” Curtis said. “It relates to sustainable family structures, and what kind of priorities are needed for social equity.” Curtis is the manager of strategic impact with Eagle River Youth Coalition in Edwards. http://www.vaildaily.com