Building a reliable grid: Platte River’s bold energy transformation
In July of 2022, the City of Loveland experienced a heat wave that included record-breaking temperatures of 106°F. Heatwaves have become significantly more frequent across Colorado, including Loveland, with some areas experiencing more heatwaves in two years than in entire decades of the 20th century.
Electric Utility Division Manager Adam Bromley said high temperatures can strain the power grid with increased power demand as more customers turn to air conditioners to beat the heat.
“As loads on our system increase in high heat events, we monitor our system closely to reliably serve our customers and avoid equipment overloads that could lead to damage or failure,” Bromley said.
With extreme weather, wildfires and other natural disasters on the rise, utilities across the country are reevaluating their energy strategies. Resiliency is top of mind for the City and Platte River Power Authority, Loveland’s wholesale power provider.
“We are committed to meeting our communities’ non-carbon energy goals by creating a more diversified, low-carbon energy portfolio,” shared Melie Vincent, chief power supply officer for Platte River. “Shifting from a traditional power supply with exceptional reliability to weather-dependent resources presents new challenges that we must overcome to continue reliably and cost effectively serving our owner communities.”
She highlighted some sustainable initiatives Platte River is implementing for customers that will reduce carbon emissions and help balance the intermittency of renewable resources.
Black Hollow Sun
The first phase of the largest solar project in Northern Colorado, Black Hollow Sun, is nearing commercial operation this fall and will add 150 megawatts (MW) of capacity to Platte River’s resource mix, tripling their current solar portfolio.
The facility will provide about 350,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy annually — enough to power the equivalent of nearly 43,000 homes (based on the typical Colorado household annual electricity consumption of 8,300 kilowatt hours) and help replace the energy from retiring coal-fired stations.
Phase two will add another 107 MW of solar power and is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2026. Together, both phases will span nearly 1,400 acres in Severance, Colorado.
*Megawatt refers to power capacity — how quickly the system can provide energy, and megawatt-hour refers to energy consumed over time — how long it can operate.
Battery storage
Battery storage will be another important addition to Platte River’s energy portfolio. A new four-hour 100 MW energy storage system will be installed adjacent to Black Hollow Sun. Comprised of a collection of interconnected batteries, the system is designed to store excess energy generated, and release it into the grid as needed to help smooth fluctuations from solar and wind generation and alleviate congestion during peak demand. Groundbreaking takes place next year.
In a tandem investment, Platte River and the owner communities are collaborating to develop a four-hour, 5 MW battery for a total of 20 MW added power. Whereas the larger 100 MW system will be located closer to the transmission side, these smaller units will be located “down the line” — closer to the distribution side for utilities to dispatch energy based on supply and demand.
Bromley said, “We’re excited at the prospect of adding utility scale storage to Loveland’s distribution system because we’ll be able to make a significant impact to localized peak demand in areas where we need it most, as well as better support Platte River.”
Virtual Power Plants
Platte River owner utilities are early adopters of a virtual power plant (VPP) — a system designed to organize, monitor and manage devices like rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles, small home batteries and smart thermostats. VPPs aggregate these devices, or “distributed energy resources (DERs),” to reduce energy demand and increase supply in response to grid needs.
Platte River is working with a preferred VPP program and software vendor to finalize a scope for this project — the first in a multi-step rollout of the VPP. DERs will be an essential tool toward achieving a 100% noncarbon energy mix. Customers who choose to enroll and contribute excess energy from their DERs to their utility help shape decarbonization efforts and grid resilience, benefitting homes and businesses in their communities.
“Virtual power plants are a key part of maintaining the resiliency and reliability of our system as we decarbonize,” Vincent said. ”The real ‘power’ of this technology is with customers who are willing to participate in these programs and help advance the energy transition.”
Interested customers can access educational resources, enroll in current programs and receive updates about future programs by visiting EfficiencyWorks.org.
Market value
Platte River is also joining an energy market where electricity and other energy commodities are bought and sold — key to reducing costs and adding more renewable energy onto the system. In 2023 Platte River joined the Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market, administered by Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and will join SPP’s Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) in spring 2026.
“Joining an energy market allows us to better manage our costs and integrate more renewable energy,” said Vincent. “A higher concentration of renewable energy is extremely difficult without a market, and that’s why membership is such a critical step for Platte River to achieve our goals.”
The utility expects its renewable energy portfolio to grow to more than 300 million MWh by 2030 — a feat that is not without its challenges. Unprecedented cost pressures for equipment and skilled labor, along with persistent supply chain delays and increased competition for technologies, are impacting electric utilities and their customers across the country. Still, Loveland and the other communities are committed to working together to create a resilient, reliable and economical power grid for future generations.