The U.S. Dept of Energy found in a report last year that large-scale deployment of virtual power plants (VPPs) “could help address demand increases and rising peaks at lower cost than conventional resources, reducing the energy costs for Americans.” They’re not a new concept, the DOE noted, adding that most existing VPPs are so-called demand response programs. Grid operators, utilities, state regulators and lawmakers across the U.S. are increasingly exploring the possibilities of VPPs. They are seen as a cost-effective way to aid an electric grid that in many parts of the country is increasingly embattled by power plant retirements as well as difficulties building new, cleaner generation and the transmission lines they need — all at a time when huge projected electric demand increases loom.

Sedalia’s CORE and Brighton’s United Power say they have enough market power to strike out on their own. The first big step comes May 1st, when United Power, which serves about 300,000 people in an area from Commerce City through Adams and Weld counties, leaves the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. “This is about local control and financial independence,” said Mark Gabriel, United Power’s CEO. CORE, serving more than 375,000 residents in parts of 11 counties from west of Colorado Springs to east of Denver, is set to finish its contract with Xcel Energy at the end of 2025. The departures trim Tri-State to 38 members and cut the association’s revenues by more than 25%.

Educating homeowners and contractors is a key to success for beneficial electrification efforts, which are backed by billions of dollars in spending from federal infrastructure, stimulus and clean energy laws promoted by the Biden administration through landmark legislation. Now there is a new online tool that has just gone live, developed by Google fellows and the nonprofit Rewiring America, that put all of Colorado’s available federal, state, local and Xcel incentives into one easy search. Colorado is the second state site to be launched by Google and Rewiring America, with another 11 states coming online soon. Read about it here at The Colorado Sun and give the interactive tool a try.

Holy Cross Energy leaped into the upper echelons of green co-ops in December, when wind and solar installations switched on that put it on track for 90%-plus renewable power by late in 2025. Now the 45,000-member utility must work with customers on the demand side, to stretch supplies when wind and sun are scarce and to distribute power when it’s available to as many batteries as possible. Customers may soon start getting texts with a lot more retail hustle than they’re used to from their electric utility: “Looks like a great day for wind. We’ll be making some power. Plug your car in from 10 to 2 today and get a big discount.” A little marketing razzle-dazzle and communication are vital steps to managing supply and demand.

Rooftop solar has historically been supported by net metering regulations across the U.S. The process involves customers exporting excess electricity generation to the grid, receiving a credit on their bill for exporting local clean energy to their neighbors. In the wake of net metering cuts leading to an industrywide implosion in California, Utah regulators are proposing a law that would increase compensation for exporting rooftop solar generation. In Utah, legislators have introduced a Bill, which would raise the rate paid under net metering and build consumer protection into future rates. The new policy would require utilities to credit solar owners at least 84% of the cost-per-kilowatt.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports today that 62.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity is coming online in 2024 – here’s how it breaks down. The EIA expects a record addition of utility-scale solar in 2024 if the scheduled 36.4 GW come online. That would nearly double 2023’s 18.4 GW increase, already a record setter for annual US utility-scale solar installation. Supply chain challenges and trade restrictions are easing, so solar continues – and will continue – to outpace capacity additions from other sources. EIA expects battery storage capacity to nearly double in 2024 – another record-setting year. Developers are expected to add 14.3 GW of battery storage in 2024 to the existing 15.5 GW.

A memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday by California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island set a goal to essentially phase out the selling of new fossil fuel boilers and furnaces for residential properties over the coming decades. The agreement aims to have 65 percent of new sales of heating and cooling systems in those states consist of heat pumps by 2030, with that percentage reaching 90 percent by 2040. Altogether, the nine states account for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, according to data from the EPA. State policy is critical to accelerating the adoption of building technologies that are good for both the climate and business. Initiatives that encourage collaboration across state lines to develop best practices are essential to accelerating this transition.

Every circumstance is different, and there's a number of strategies you can employ to maximize the savings you get from your solar system, like adding batteries or an EV charger. True electron counters might time their personal energy usage to when their solar system is at peak production to avoid paying for energy from the grid. With a battery and time of use rates, you could draw energy from the grid when it's cheapest and send energy to the grid when it's most expensive, maximizing your savings. Basically, the more you familiarize yourself with the details of your utility's rate policies and the workings of your own system, the more you'll be able to save and the quicker you'll pay off your solar investment. This comprehensive article from CNET will help answer all your questions about net metering with solar.

Hawaii has the highest solar capacity deployed per capita. But the sun doesn’t shine 24/7, so it still needs energy storage. The state intends to run off 100% green energy by 2045, per Electrek. The company claims it’s “the most advanced grid-scale battery energy storage system in the world.” Modeling done by Hawaiian Electric found that the plant will allow the utility to reduce curtailment of renewable energy by 69% and integrate 10% more new utility-scale renewables in its first five years while also providing for the continued growth of personal rooftop solar. While the system directly benefits Hawaiians, the transition from dirty energy sources like coal to clean sources like solar and wind benefits us all. According to the U.S. EPA, when pollution from electricity use is allocated to the industrial sector, industrial activities account for 30% of planet-warming pollution in the U.S.

Colorado receives $17.2 million in federal funds that will be used for microgrids and other strategies to ensure the lights stay on. Allen Best of Big Pivots explains how microgrids provide the ability to become ultra-local in our electricity, both supplies and demands, when circumstances require. They can keep the lights on and facilities operating. Colorado has a program called Microgrids for Community Resilience, one of the few such programs in the United States. Where is SDCEA on applying for this funding opportunity?

An analysis of new jobs, wages, tax revenue, and billions in economic activity to be generated by major clean energy and electric vehicle projects announced one year after the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law has been released. The report predicts 403,000 new jobs — including nearly 100,000 permanent jobs — would be created and supported throughout the economy, $156 billion added to U.S. GDP, $111 billion in new wages for workers, and more than $32 billion generated in tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments. It’s not about Red and Blue; this is a non-partisan success story that is about US (as a country).

The Clean Jobs Colorado report, released annually by clean energy business group E2, analyzed 2022 federal employment data and counted nearly 64,000 Coloradans employed across a range of categories including energy efficiency, renewable electricity generation and clean vehicles. That’s more than double the roughly 30,000 Coloradans directly employed by coal, oil and natural gas, according to E2’s analysis. Clean energy employers in Colorado added 2,700 jobs last year, and employment has grown about 11% faster within the industry than in the state’s economy as a whole since 2020.

Last year, the Colorado Legislature passed House Bill 22-1013 which created the Microgrids for Community Resilience Act and grant program. The grants are intended to create alternative microgrids in rural communities “that are at significant risk of severe weather or natural disaster events,” the act states, and can be anchored by a school, hospital, law enforcement agency or other community facility. The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office facility in Ilium recently underwent a renovation that increased its energy efficiency with solar panels. Colorado residents and members of the San Miguel Power Association are being encouraged to look for opportunities to plan for energy efficiency and resiliency as new grant funding and legislative action continues shaping the future of renewable energy in the region.

It’s no secret that renewable energy is the key to meeting climate change targets. The U. S. is committed to achieving 80% renewable energy generation by 2030, 100% zero-carbon energy by 2035, and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. But while developer interest is high and the cost of renewables is lower than ever—rapidly outperforming fossil fuels—ongoing interconnection delays are slowing the clean energy transition. Microgrids, community solar and rural electric cooperatives may provide an answer to this problem.

A consortium of Minnesota electric co-ops is preparing to apply for $970M in federal funding that could help propel rural utilities toward the state’s 100% clean electricity target. The state’s largest generation and transmission cooperative, Great River Energy, convened the group, which so far includes more than half of its members. The utilities are collaborating on an application for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s New Empowering Rural America program. Will our power provider, Tri-State G&T, take advantage of this program?

Since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed one year ago, U.S. solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments, according to new analysis by the Solar Energy Industries Association. Solar and storage manufacturing is now surging in the U.S., as 51 solar manufacturing facilities have been announced or expanded in the last year. By 2026, the U.S. is projected to have over 17 times its current manufacturing capacity across modules, cells, wafers, ingots and inverters when these announced factories are in operation, which is enough to supply a majority of solar projects expected to be built in the U.S.

The fifth-leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado is its more than 2.5 million residential and commercial buildings. Colorado is promoting all-electric buildings to help the state achieve its emissions reduction targets of 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050 from 2005 levels. All-electric buildings can also reduce utility costs for residents and business owners.

Your future neighborhood could be part of a cleaner energy future. Electrek reported recently on the first all-electric, solar-powered, storm-resilient neighborhood to break ground in Vermont. The neighborhood is an example of the Inflation Reduction Act at work, and when complete, it will be used as a model of resiliency against climate change in Vermont. It’s a feat in that it not only moves the needle against the planet’s rising temperatures but also saves its residents money.

If you reside in the Centennial State, there’s a good chance you’ve considered “going solar,” or investing in solar panels for your home. That’s because Colorado is famous for its sunshine. In fact, the state gets 300 days of sunshine every year, making it the perfect place for those who want to live off the grid—either partially or fully—and run their home on solar energy. If you’ve ever wondered about solar panel pricing and incentives in Colorado, you’ve come to the right place. This Forbes article discuss that and more, so you’ll be well-equipped to make the best decision for your home.

Mike Kruger with COSSA discusses Holy Cross Energy’s new rate structure and why it should be reconsidered. HCE is unilaterally reinterpreting established net metering law, negatively impacting residents, businesses, and the communities it serves in the process. As Colorado’s legislature has made clear, Colorado’s net metering policy should be uniform, decided at the state level, and should not be restructured utility-by-utility.

On March 7, 2023, the Colorado Energy Office made a presentation to the Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Affordability to address rising utility rates in the state. Governor Polis has called on state agencies to work collaboratively with the state’s utilities and others to develop responses that can help reduce the energy cost burden.

States are building on federal climate action by instituting renewable energy standards and new clean car rules. With the cost of renewables like wind and solar steadily dropping, some states are considering moving up their timeline or increasing the percentage of clean energy.

Across the American West, voters strongly support transitioning to 100% clean energy. That’s according to Colorado College’s latest “Conservation in the West” poll, which for more than a decade has surveyed voters in 8 states: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM , UT and WY.

One in five Americans now lives in an area that's trying to move buildings off fossil fuels. The Inflation Reduction Act, which contains billions of dollars in tax credits and rebates to help people swap gas heaters, dryers, and stoves for electric appliances, is likely to accelerate the trend.