Colorado trades away coal and gas for solar+wind+storage
The Colorado PUC has voted to provide initial approval of a plan to retire 660 MW of coal early and not build any new gas, instead constructing over 1 GW of wind, 700 MW of solar and 275 MW / 1.0 GWh of energy storage.
Tri-State could save $600 million by switching from coal to renewables
A study finds that “just the operating costs of many existing coal assets” now exceed total costs for new solar and wind power in the Mountain West. The Tri-State utility, for example, could save $600 million by 2030 by phasing out five coal units in favor of solar, wind and purchases of wholesale capacity and power.
Big steel goes big solar
A deal between Xcel Energy and steelmaker EVRAZ includes the building of a 240 MW solar project near the company’s Rocky Mountain Steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado. This is by far the largest behind-the-meter solar project pv magazine staff has heard of to date.
Denver sets a course for 100% renewable electricity by 2030
The city’s bold 80×50 plan also covers the decarbonization of transport and a reduction in building energy use, with municipal buildings, fleets and energy use leading the charge.
Ska Brewing adds solar to renewable arsenal
Named after everbody’s favorite mashup genre, the company has gone 100% renewable with the addition of their new solar project
GCL signs a 110 MW solar power contract in Colorado (project layout, hardware included)
GCL’s “Overseas Seeding Initiative” has landed in Brighton, Colorado – dropping in over 330,000 solar panels on single axis trackers.
World’s largest li-ion battery and 707 MW of solar power in Colorado proposal
Xcel Energy’s 120-day report to Colorado regulators includes an additional 1.1 GW of wind at 1.1-1.8¢/kWh. Solar power bids have come in at 2.2-2.7¢/kWh, and solar+storage at 3.0-3.2¢/kWh.
Republicans request utility-scale solar panel tariff exemption
A group of eight Republican senators has sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative and other federal agencies calling for utility-scale solar panels to be exempt from the Section 201 tariffs.
Solar power policy roundup April 25
Our first solar power policy roundup looks at a bills to scrap net metering while raising the RPS in Connecticut, the establishment of performance-based ratemaking for utilities in Hawaii, and more.
Does an aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard increase utility rates?
In this op-ed ASU energy security researcher Dr. Wesley Herche demonstrates that for all the talk of renewable energy raising customer rates, there is no correlation between utility rates and ambitious state-level renewable energy mandates.
